Evaluation of the wear properties of a metal-on-metal total joint replacement system and in vitro macrophage response to resultant wear particles.

摘要

The wear of the polyethylene in total joint prostheses has been a source of morbidity and early device failure which has been extensively reported in the last ten to twelve years. While research continues to attempt to reduce the wear of polyethylene joint bearing surfaces by modifications in polymer processing, there is a renewed interest in the use of metal-on-metal bearing couples for hip replacement devices.; This study investigated the in vitro wear resistance of two cobalt/chromium/molybdenum alloys, which differed primarily in the carbon content, as potential alloys for use in such a metal-on-metal hip bearing couple. The results showed that the alloy with the higher (0.25%) carbon content was more wear resistant and this alloy was chosen for testing in a hip simulator system which modeled the loads and motions which might be exerted on a clinically implanted hip replacement. Comparison of the results of metal-on-polyethylene specimens to metal-on-metal specimens showed that the volumetric wear of the metal-on-polyethylene bearing couple over 5,000,000 cycles was 110–180 times as great as that for the metal bearing couple.; Polyethylene and metal particles retrieved from either pin-on-disk testing lubricant or hip simulator testing lubricant were cleaned and examined for consistency with the particles reported by other laboratories for particles from periprosthetic tissues and found to be similar. The particles were then added to macrophage (J774a) cell cultures and the release of Prostaglandin E₂, Interleukin-6, and Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha measured for each experiment in response to the particles. The cell mediators released by the cells was found to correlate with the dosage of particles and the chemical identity of the particles. Most of the cellular response to the polyethylene particles seemed to be as a result of phagocytosis of the particles while most of the response to metal particles seemed to be related to cytotoxicity of the particles.; Based upon the results of this study, metal-on-metal hip prostheses prepared from the high carbon cobalt/chromium alloy (CCM+) that was investigated seem to hold sufficient promise to justify human clinical trials.