In-situ electrochemical study of interaction of tribology and corrosion in artificial hip prosthesis simulators

The second generation Metal-on-Metal (MoM) hip replacements have been considered as an alternative to commonly used Polyethylene-on-Metal (PoM) joint prostheses due to polyethylene wear debris induced osteolysis. However, the role of corrosion and the biofilm formed under tribological contact are still not fully understood. Enhanced metal ion concentrations have been reported widely from hair, blood and urine samples of patients who received metal hip replacements and in isolated cases when abnormally high levels have caused adverse local tissue reactions. An understanding of the origin of metal ions is really important in order to design alloys for reduced ion release. Reciprocating pin-on-plate wear tester is a standard instrument to assess the interaction of corrosion and wear. However, more realistic hip simulator can provide a better understanding of tribocorrosion process for hip implants. It is very important to instrument the conventional hip simulator to enable electrochemical measurements. In this study, simple reciprocating pin-on-plate wear tests and hip simulator tests were compared. It was found that metal ions originated from two sources: (a) a depassivation of the contacting surfaces due to tribology (rubbing) and (b) corrosion of nano-sized wear particles generated from the contacting surfaces.

► By integrating a hip simulator, corrosion behavior of hip components can be assessed in real time.
► Mechanical wear of hip implants can be accelerated by electrochemical corrosion, vice versa.
► The reduction of metallic ions and total material loss can be attributed to a tribofilm formation.
► Tribofilm can reduce friction and act as a pseudo-passive layer to protect the bearing surfaces.