Friction and wear mechanisms in hip prosthesis: Comparison of joint materials behaviour in several lubricants

In this work, the most commonly used joint materials for substitution of hip joints, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) for the cup, and alumina, stainless steel or CoCrMo alloy for the head, were submitted to pin-on-disk tribological tests. The interfacial behaviour prosthetic material/lubricant was investigated through wettability measurements. Four lubricants were used: Hanks' balanced salt solution (HBSS) and solutions of bovine serum albumin (BSA), of hyaluronic acid (HA) and of both components (BSA + HA) in HBSS. It was observed that the friction coefficient increased significantly with time, in a random way, when the lubricant did not contain albumin. The addition of HA induced a slight reduction in the initial value of the friction coefficient but did not affect qualitatively its behaviour for longer times. Observation of the worn metallic surfaces revealed parallel grooves typical of abrasive wear and also lumpy transfer film of UHMWPE, while the transfer of polymer to alumina was incipient. Wear was particularly intense on the steel surface where delamination and fatigue wear mechanisms were also found. In the presence of albumin, the friction coefficient remained constant and small for the metallic surfaces and increased in the case of alumina. The observation of the worn surfaces showed that the presence of albumin in the lubricant avoided the transfer of polymer for the metallic surfaces but not for the alumina surfaces. These results, together with the wettability measurements, strongly indicate that the presence of albumin in the lubricant avoids the adhesion and transfer of UHMWPE only for the least hydrophilic surfaces, which are the metallic ones.