Natural Lubrication for Metal Implants
"Natural" graphite lubricant reduces wear on metal-on-metal implants January 2, 2012 by Emily Greenhalgh A newly discovered lubricating layer of graphite could be the key to longer-lasting metal-on-metal hip implants, according to researchers. A study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that lubrication in metal-on-metal hip implants has more in common with the lubrication in a combustion engine than a natural joint. The study, conducted by U.S. and German researchers, found that a lubrication layer that forms in metal-on-metal hip replacement devices is actually graphite carbon, not proteins as researchers previously suspected. "Graphite has been used as a lubricant for over a century," study co-author Laurence Marks told Reuters . " It is a classic lubricant, and it appears to form naturally." When they discovered the graphite lubricant, researchers from Northwestern, Rush University Medical Center and the University of Duisburg-Essen w...