Evaluation of the wear-resistance of DLC-coated hard-on-soft pairings for biomedical applications
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings deposited on the surfaces of joint replacements have the potential to enhance the biotribological behavior and longevity. In our new published article, we employ an UHMWPE (PE) ball-on-three CoCr or Ti alloy pin configuration lubricated by simulated body fluid to carry out screening tests. Thus, the influence of the choice of the coated component as well as the differences between various load cases with non- and conventionally cross-linked PE were studied. While only the metallic components were mostly coated in studies reported in literature, our investigation showed that a coating of the PE component in particular is of decisive importance for enhancing the wear performance. Moreover, single sided coating results in higher wear of the uncoated counter-part. Therefore, coatings deposited on both articulating surfaces should be pursued in the future. These results have now been published – following a fruitful international collaboration between KTmfk, Anton Paar Germany and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile – in a special issue of the renowned journal Wear.
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2023.204728