Surface modification for improving the in-vivo lifespan of bioimplants

Recently, the researchers from University College Dublin have made some new development on increasing the in-vivo lifespan of artificial joints. The research team developed an optimized surface topography design for bioimplants, covering both surface roughness and surface textures, which is likely to help reduce the aseptic loosening induced by wear particles. This study can be found in the journal Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering on 27 July, 2022.

With the world entering into the ageing society, there will be a growing need for bioimplants in the near future. However, the current artificial joints have a relatively short longevity, generally 15‒20 years which is obviously insufficient for the younger patients. Under this circumstance, many patients have to take revision operations after taking the primary replacement. This will cause a huge burden to the national health care system as well as a damage to the physical health of patients. Since the main failure mechanism of current bioimplants is the bioactive reactions between live tissues and polymer debris, the research team firstly focuses on finding the optimal surface roughness to improve the tribological performance of bearing surfaces under the simulated working condition.

In addition to the surface roughness, surface texturing is another effective method to improve the tribological performance. Conventionally, evenly-distributed micro patterns are discussed in the literatures. However, unevenly-distributed micro patterns are often seen on the healthy natural joints. There is still lack of knowledge regarding which distribution mode is more suitable for the bioimplants and the mechanism behind. Based on the comprehensive study, the primary finding confirms that the evenly-distributed mode is more suitable for the artificial joints, and the second lubrication effect can explain this phenomenon. The researchers also proposed a specific micro-pattern design for the optimal tribological performance in previous works which underpins this research finding and valuable for guiding industrial practice.

The Center of Micro/Nano Manufacturing Technology (www.mnmt-dublin.org) is well known by the research and applications in micro/nano manufacturing, precision metrology, innovative medical devices and bio-implants, and advanced optical systems.

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Reference: Gang SHEN, Jufan ZHANG, David CULLITON, Ruslan MELENTIEV, Fengzhou FANG. Tribological study on the surface modification of metal-on-polymer bioimplants. Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering, 2022, 17(2): 26 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-022-0682-6

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About Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering

Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering is an international peer-reviewed academic journal sponsored by the Ministry of Education of China. The journal seeks to provide a forum for a broad blend of high-quality academic papers in order to promote rapid communication and exchange between researchers, scientists, and engineers in the field of mechanical engineering. The journal publishes original research articles, review articles and feature articles. The journal covers all major branches of mechanical engineering including (not limited to): machines and mechanisms, gears and transmissions, mechanical system dynamics, mechanical structures and stress analysis, tribology and surface technology, mechanical design and bionics, machining processes and technologies, manufacturing automation, precision engineering, mechatronics and embedded systems, micro/nano manufacturing and systems, robotics, sensing, MEMS, and green manufacturing.

The Editors-in-Chief are Academician Zheng You from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, Academician Dongming Guo from Dalian University of Technology, China. The journal has been indexed by SCI, SCOPUS, INSPEC, Astrophysics Data System (ADS), Google Scholar, CSA, Academic OneFile, Chinese Science Citation Database, Expanded Academic, Gale, OCLC, Summon by ProQuest, etc.