The effect of serum protein concentration on wear rates in a hip simulator.

Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene cups, 22 mm in diameter, were aged for 5 years in the normal laboratory environment. Half of the samples had been processed by the standard radiation sterilization techniques, while the remainder had been cross-linked by a technique involving higher radiation doses and controlled temperature at the time of irradiation. The samples had been tested in a hip simulator for 5,000,000 cycles using a lubricant that had been diluted 1:1 with deionized water. Once that testing was completed, further testing was conducted using lubricant with greater and lesser serum protein concentrations, and the results compared with those that had already been recorded. Comparison of the wear rates within the study as well as to published data concerning the effect of serum concentration showed results that were consistent with assumed differences in lubrication ability at different concentrations. The results of other published studies were found to be inconsistent with each other and different from some of the results of this study. There is shown to be a need for carefully controlled and conducted studies to agree, if possible, on the importance of the serum concentration and the appropriate parameters to be used in testing, as well as variations that may be necessary with different bearing material characteristics.