Wear of the artificial hip joint material under lubrication

A study of wear properties of hip-replacement materials, namely high-nitrogen stainless-steel femoral heads and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), was conducted in a non-conforming apparatus using various liquid lubricants. The liquids used were normal saline solution, sodium azide solution, pure ethanol, aqueous hyaluronic acid and aqueous hyaluronic acid/cholesterol and cholesterol palmitate liquid crystal lubricant. Saline solution proved to be unsuitable as a lubricant while sodium azide that was used as a bactericide provided some evidence of mixed lubrication. A bactericide was included to overcome degradation. The aqueous hyaluronic acid exhibited cushion form lubrication as evidenced by retention of the original polymer surface features within the wear indent. Cholesterol addition showed little improvement on the wear properties but massively increased the bacterial activity. Again, inclusion of a bactericide was necessary. Liquid crystal lubricant significantly reduced wear and the atomic force microscope (AFM) showed that the liquid crystal formed protective layers on the counter face surfaces. The sub-surface of the polymer possessed plastic creep under load but low adhesive wear was present. There also was an absence of sub-micron polymer debris. It was concluded that a dramatic reduction in wear could be achieved by incorporation of liquid crystal lubricant in hip-replacement elements. Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.