Lubricant in metal-on-metal hip implants found to be graphite (OrthoSuperSite)
Graphite carbon is a key element in the lubricating layer that forms in metal-on-metal hip implants, according to a study recently published in Science. The study was funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“We know there are metal-on-metal systems that have not performed well,” Joshua J. Jacobs, MD, lead investigator and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, stated in a NIH news release. “Problematic devices have tended to release more metal debris through wear and corrosion than devices that have performed well. This debris can cause a local tissue response involving the bone, ligaments, tendons and muscles around the hip.”
Jacobs and his fellow researchers took a tribological approach to looking at metal joint components that had been removed in revision procedures.
According to the release, previous research had revealed that a lubricating layer forms on metallic joints as a result of friction. Although researchers knew little about thi...
