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.

Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty of Engineering University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Monash University Clayton VIC3800 Australia

Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Brno University of Technology Technická 2896 2 616 69 Brno Czech Republic

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