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The Local and Systemic Effects of Cobalt-Chromium Nanoparticles on the Human Body: The Implications for Metal-on-Metal Hip Arthroplasty

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Metal Nanoparticles in Pharma

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Abstract

Prostheses made from metal alloys have been successfully utilised within medicine for hundreds of years. Among these, cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr) alloys have seen extensive use in orthopaedic applications, including hip and knee joint replacements. Despite all the research and development that has gone into optimising these implants, however, a small proportion of them ultimately fail and require revision after a number of years. While the reasons for this are diverse, the reaction of metal nanoparticles to human tissues is a recognised complication of implanting these alloys within the body. This chapter explores the orthopaedic use of metal alloys within the human body as well as the local and systemic effects of these metal nanoparticles, with emphasis on large-diameter metal-on-metal hip replacements.

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Abbreviations

ALVAL:

Aseptic lymphocyte-dominated vasculitis-associated lesion

ARMD:

Adverse reaction(s) to metal debris

Co-Cr:

Cobalt-chromium

EDTA:

Ethylenediaminetetraacetate

MARS:

Metal artefact reduction sequence

MoM:

Metal-on-metal

MoP:

Metal-on-polyethylene

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

SCENIHR:

Scientific committee on emerging and newly identified health risks

THA:

Total hip arthroplasty

THR:

Total hip replacement(s)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, Western Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    James Drummond, Phong Tran & Camdon Fary

  2. Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Phong Tran & Camdon Fary

  3. Epworth Musculoskeletal Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Camdon Fary

Authors
  1. James Drummond
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  2. Phong Tran
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  3. Camdon Fary
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to James Drummond .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nanobiotechnology laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, SGB Amravati University, Amravati, Maharashtra, India

    Mahendra Rai, Ph.D

  2. Institute of Pharmacy, Department Pharmaceutics, Biopharmaceutics & NutriCosmetics, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Ranjita Shegokar, Ph.D

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Drummond, J., Tran, P., Fary, C. (2017). The Local and Systemic Effects of Cobalt-Chromium Nanoparticles on the Human Body: The Implications for Metal-on-Metal Hip Arthroplasty. In: Rai, Ph.D, M., Shegokar, Ph.D, R. (eds) Metal Nanoparticles in Pharma. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63790-7_19

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