In vitro simulation of fretting-corrosion in hip implant modular junctions: The influence of pH
By Royhman, Dmitry; Patel, Megha; Jacobs, Joshua J.; Wimmer, Markus A.; Hallab, Nadim J.; Mathew, Mathew T.
Published in Medical Engineering & Physics
2018
Abstract
Background The fretting-corrosion behavior of mixed metal contacts is affected by various mechanical and electrochemical parameters. Crevice conditions at the junction and patient-specific pathologies can affect the pH of the prosthetic environment. The main objective of this study is to understand the effect of pH variation at the stem/head junction of the hip implant under fretting corrosion exposure. We hypothesized that pH will have a significant influence on the fretting-corrosion behavior hip implant modular junctions. Materials and methods A custom-made setup was used to evaluate the fretting corrosion behavior of hip implant modular junctions. A Newborn calf serum solution (30 g/L protein content) was used to simulate the synovial fluid environment. A sinusoidal fretting motion, with a displacement amplitude of +50