Tantalum as a buffer layer in diamond-like carbon coated artificial hip joints

J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater. 2003 Jul 15;66(1):425-8. doi: 10.1002/jbm.b.10029.

Abstract

The acid resistance of tantalum coated and uncoated human hip joint prostheses was studied with commercial CrCoMo acetabular cups. The samples were exposed to 10% HCl solution and the quantities of dissolved Cr, Co, and Mo were measured with proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The absolute quantities were obtained with the use of Cr and Se solution standards. Tantalum coatings (thicknesses 4-6 microm) were prepared in vacuum with magnetron sputtering. Tantalum coating decreased the corrosion rate by a factor of 10(6). As a spinoff from recent wear tests on artificial hip joints it was shown that tantalum has excellent mechanical properties as an intermediate layer of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings. When tantalum was tested together with DLC on three metal-on-metal hip joint pairs in a hip simulator, no observable defects occurred during 15 million walking cycles with a periodic 50-300-kg load (Paul curve).

MeSH terms

  • Acids
  • Biocompatible Materials*
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Carbon
  • Corrosion
  • Diamond
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Hip Prosthesis*
  • Humans
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Materials Testing
  • Prosthesis Design
  • Research Design
  • Surface Properties
  • Tantalum*

Substances

  • Acids
  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Tantalum
  • Carbon
  • Diamond