Analysis of Chemisorbed Tribo-Film for Ceramic-on-Ceramic Hip Joint Prostheses by Raman Spectroscopy

To understand the possible lubricant mechanism in ceramic-on-ceramic hip joint prostheses, biochemical reactions of the synovial fluid and the corresponding frictional coefficients were studied. The experiments were performed in a hip joint simulator using the ball-on-cup configuration with balls and cups made from two types of ceramics, BIOLOXforte and BIOLOXdelta. Different lubricants, namely albumin, gamma-globulin, hyaluronic acid and three model synovial fluids, were studied in the experiments and Raman spectroscopy was used to analyze the biochemical responses of these lubricants at the interface. BIOLOXdelta surface was found less reactive to proteins and model fluid lubricants. In contrast, BIOLOXforte ball surface has shown chemisorption with both proteins, hyaluronic acid and model fluids imitating total joint replacement and osteoarthritic joint. There was no direct correlation between the measured frictional coefficient and the observed chemical reactions. In summary, the study reveals chemistry of lubricant film formation on ceramic hip implant surfaces with various model synovial fluids and their components.

Automated summary

The study investigated the lubricant mechanism in ceramic-on-ceramic hip joint prostheses by examining the biochemical reactions of synovial fluid and frictional coefficients. The results showed that the BIOLOXdelta surface had less reactivity to proteins and model fluid lubricants, while the BIOLOXforte ball surface exhibited chemisorption with proteins, hyaluronic acid, and model fluids. The study also revealed that there was no direct correlation between the measured frictional coefficient and the observed chemical reactions.