Tribological Analysis and Optimization of Polymer Prosthetic Components as Drug Delivery Systems

This paper analyzes the tribological properties of a polymer prosthetic component, which was optimized by coating polymer layers containing medicinal substances. Polymer component is made of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (uhmwpe) and is used in prosthetic hip replacement for acetabular cup with a metal component of cobalt-chromium alloy molybdenum. Polymer surface was covered with a layer of polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel superporos containing the drug substance ketoprofen-cyclodextrin complex. Studies consisted in evaluating drug substance release during 12 hours and tribological evaluation of polymer surface in simulated physiological conditions using cetr-umt-2 device.