Analysis of prosthetic knee wear debris extracted from synovial fluid

We report on the use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy to investigate the metallic content of wear debris from prosthetic knees. Synovial fluid aspirated from patients with prosthetic knees was centrifuged, rinsed and dried, resulting in small deposits of wear debris. We identify the presence and composition of metal wear debris from the femoral, tibial, and in some cases the patellar prosthetic components. We also demonstrate the inhomogeneous size, shape, and distribution of the wear particles, and both lateral and vertical elemental inhomogeneity. This points to the necessity of using a combination of techniques for studying such wear debris. The ability to detect the presence of certain metals within the synovial fluid of patients, even when surgical inspection did not identify wear of specific components, may have far reaching implications in the biomedical and prosthetics communities.