Polyethylene wear debris produced in a knee simulator model: effect of crosslinking and counterface material.
Polyethylene (PE) debris has been well studied in clinical retrievals and laboratory wear simulations of total hip replacements. However, little is known about PE debris from total knee replacements. In this study, we investigated the effects of crosslinking PE bearings and alternate counterface material. Mildly (35 kGy) and highly (70 kGy) crosslinked PE were studied in combination with CoCr and zirconia femoral counterfaces. Wear debris was isolated and its morphology characterized. Except for changes in PE debris size with the zirconia bearings, there were no morphological changes greater than 10%. The average submicron volume fraction decreased from about 65% to 45% with both increased crosslinking and changing counterface material from CoCr to zirconia. The averaged number of generated particles decreased by approximately fourfold with increased crosslinking and threefold with changing counterface material from CoCr to zirconia. This showed that the degree of PE crosslinking and the choice of counterface material were important factors in the PE wear debris production in total knee simulator replacements.
Peterson Research Center, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California 92354, USA. pwilliams@llu.edu
Paul A
PA
Williams
Cindy M
CM
Brown
Riichro
R
Tsukamoto
Ian C
IC
Clarke
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D006801:Humans; D007717:Knee; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008954:Models, Biological; D020959:Polyethylene
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020959:Polyethylene