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Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Biotribological Testing and Analysis of Articular Cartilage Sliding against Metal for Implants
Published on: May 14, 2020
Tribological performance of the biological components of synovial fluid in artificial joint implants
Subir Ghosh1, Dipankar Choudhury2, Taposh Roy3
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Abstract:
The concentration of biological components of synovial fluid (such as albumin, globulin, hyaluronic acid, and lubricin) varies between healthy persons and osteoarthritis (OA) patients. The aim of the present study is to compare the effects of such variation on tribological performance in a simulated hip joint model. The study was carried out experimentally by utilizing a pin-on-disk simulator on ceramic-on-ceramic (CoC) and ceramic-on-polyethylene (CoP) hip joint implants. The experimental results show that both friction and wear of artificial joints fluctuate with the concentration level of biological components. Moreover, the performance also varies between material combinations. Wear debris sizes and shapes produced by ceramic and polyethylene were diverse. We conclude that the biological components of synovial fluid and their concentrations should be considered in order to select an artificial hip joint to best suit that patient.
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