Abstract
Excellent wear resistance is an important feature of orthopedic implants. However, although pure polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is outperformed by carbon fiber-reinforced PEEK (CF-PEEK) for stability and durability under laboratory conditions, it is not clear whether CF-PEEK should be preferred in all real-world applications. Results indicate that, under dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lubrication, the wear rates of PEEK are 35%—80% lower than the wear rates of CF-PEEK for different implant materials, speeds, loadings, and DPPC concentrations. Molecular dynamics calculations confirm that DPPC self-assembles on the PEEK surface to form an easily adsorbed continuous phospholipid lubricating film. In contrast, the carbon fibers on the CF-PEEK surface hinder the formation of the protective DPPC film and the CF-PEEK surface is thus subject to faster wear.
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Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52175180, 51805366) and the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City (Grant No. 19JCQNJC04100).
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Shuai YAN. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Tianjin University in 2010 and 2015, respectively. He is an associate professor at the Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education of Tianjin University. He was selected as “Peiyang Scholar-Young Backbone Teacher” by Tianjin University. His research interests focus on ceramic tribology and ceramic precision machining.
Shichao MEN. He joined the Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education at Tianjin University from 2019. Currently, he has been studying for his M.S. degree in the School of Material Engineering of Tianjin University. His research interests include the tribology of ceramic and polymer orthopaedic implants.
Bin LIN. He is a tenured professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University. His current identity is a doctoral supervisor and the vice-director of the Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education. His research areas cover machining theory and technology of hard and brittle materials, and application technology of hard and brittle materials.
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Yan, S., Men, S., Zou, H. et al. Carbon fiber cannot always reduce the wear of PEEK for orthopedic implants under DPPC lubrication. Friction 11, 395–409 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-022-0604-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-022-0604-y
Keywords
- polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
- carbon fiber-reinforced PEEK (CF-PEEK)
- dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC)
- orthopedic implants
- self-assembly