Influence of protein adsorption on tribocorrosion behaviour of CoCrMo biomedical-grade alloys

CoCrMo alloys have been widely used in metal-on-metal hip replacements. They exhibit excellent long-term survival rates; however, recently, high failure rates associated with adverse local tissue reactions have been observed. CoCrMo alloys generally work extremely well; however, sometimes their wear rate is high. This work investigated protein adsorption effects on the tribocorrosion behaviour of CoCrMo biomedical-grade alloys under different surface and media conditions. The study of the wear mechanisms indicated that protein adsorption affects the corrosion and mechanical material loss of the investigated material. The synergistic and antagonistic behaviour of the material was correlated with the protein adsorption.