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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Tom Joyce
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The lubricant in which both natural and replacement joints must operate is synovial fluid. In vitro wear tests of such prostheses and their biomaterials generally employ a lubricant based on bovine serum, as this contains proteins that have a critical impact in reproducing clinically valid wear rates in the laboratory. However, it is also recognised that bovine serum is not identical to synovial fluid, a key difference being that synovial fluid includes hyaluronic acid but bovine serum does not. Few clinically valid wear tests employing a lubricant that includes hyaluronic acid have been undertaken, and the results have been contradictory. To try and inform these results, a series of wear tests were undertaken using a clinically validated wear screening device to investigate the influence of the addition of hyaluronic acid to the lubricant on the wear rates on two orthopaedic biopolymers. When a clinically used hyaluronic acid solution, Ostenil®, was added to a dilute bovine serum lubricant, it was found that wear factors were not greatly changed compared with dilute bovine serum alone. Additional wear tests were undertaken with Ostenil® added to distilled water. Here, wear was much lower but not clinically valid as transfer films were formed on the test plates.
Author(s): Joyce T
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology
Year: 2009
Volume: 223
Issue: 3
Pages: 297-302
ISSN (print): 1350-6501
ISSN (electronic): 2041-305X
Publisher: Professional Engineering Publishing
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1243/13506501JET480
DOI: 10.1243/13506501JET480
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