In artificial joints, the bone part is usually substituted by a metallic component with high corrosion and strength resistance while the articular cartilage is replaced by a polymer. Use of thin layer of a compliant material acting as a bearing surface in human replacement joints has recently generated considerable interest. This work analyses the coating of a solid porous substrate of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) with a poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) and two sIPN-type blends: pHEMA-cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) and pHEMA-poly (ethyl methacrylate) (PEM) using 5.0% (w/w) of the crosslinking agent and 11.0% (w/w) of the linear reinforcing polymer. The wear resistance of the coating materials was evaluated in a TRI PIN ON DISK type equipment and the damage extension was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Preliminary qualitative tests were performed with the goal to identifying the hydrogels show the minimal required properties concerning wear strength. The pHEMA coating was completely destroyed during the first wear cycles, characterizing its low shear strength. By the other hand, after the complete experiment, both pHEMA-CAB and pHEMA-PEM blends showed a slightly improvement of abrasive and adhesive wear. This result indicates that the studied blends are promising materials to be used as compliant surfaces in joint prosthesis.

We evaluated the mechanical behavior of the repaired surfaces of defective articular cartilage in the intercondylar region of the rat femur after a hydrogel graft implant. The results were compared to those for the adjacent normal articular cartilage and for control surfaces where the defects remained empty. Hydrogel synthesized by blending poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) and poly(methyl methacrylate-co-acrylic acid) was implanted in male Wistar rats. The animals were divided into five groups with postoperative follow-up periods of 3, 5, 8, 12 and 16 weeks. Indentation tests were performed on the neoformed surfaces in the knee joint (with or without a hydrogel implant) and on adjacent articular cartilage in order to assess the mechanical properties of the newly formed surface. Kruskal-Wallis analysis indicated that the mechanical behavior of the neoformed surfaces was significantly different from that of normal cartilage. Histological analysis of the repaired defects showed that the hydrogel implant filled the defect with no signs of inflammation as it was well anchored to the surrounding tissues, resulting in a newly formed articular surface. In the case of empty control defects, osseous tissue grew inside the defects and fibrous tissue formed on the articular surface of the defects. The repaired surface of the hydrogel implant was more compliant than normal articular cartilage throughout the 16 weeks following the operation, whereas the fibrous tissue that formed postoperatively over the empty defect was stiffer than normal articular cartilage after 5 weeks. This stiffness started to decrease 16 weeks after the operation, probably due to tissue degeneration. Thus, from the biomechanical and histological point of view, the hydrogel implant improved the articular surface repair.