Materials incompatibility as a major cause of hip prostheses rejection

Abstract

The development of new multifunctional coatings to apply on medical biomaterials continues to be required, since materials commonly used in hip prostheses still presenting failures. Multifunctionality is the result of a synergy, on the nanoscale level, of good corrosion, mechanical and tribological properties. Additionally, a biomaterial must always be biocompatible. Besides these properties, the major challenge would be to get a material that also has antimicrobial activity. In this context, the development of advanced materials with the ability to present these properties is being regarded as a strategy to prevent the colonization of implant and biofilm formation by bacteria. So, in this review, the attention is focused on the description of the funda- mental points of the natural synovial joint, since, its mechanical and tribological characteristics are the main causes that lead to the necessity of its replacement by an implant. Moreover, a contextualization was also performed on the hip replacement surgery and the biomaterials used, with a focus on their mechanical and tribological properties. Finally, it is explained the need of surface modification and the potential of TiCN coatings doped with silver.