As a well-known biomaterial, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been widely used as a substrate of artificial joints, due to its excellent biocompatibility, mechanical properties and anti-wear properties. In this work, graphene oxide (GO) and irradiation cross-linking are applied to enhance the performance of UHMWPE matrix, and then GO/UHMWPE nanocomposites were immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) at 37 ℃ for 6 months to simulate the service environment of human body. The results showed that irradiation cross-linking treatment will promote the break and recombination of the molecular chains of UHMWPE and GO. The addition of GO which is followed by irradiation cross-linking method can increase the crystallinity and melting point, meanwhile, lead to a decrement in the friction coefficient and wear rate of the substrate. The average friction coefficient and wear rate were decreased to 0.1035 and 4.78 × 10^–9 g N⁻¹ m⁻¹ under the simultaneous function of irradiation cross-linking and GO addition. However, after immersion in SBF for 6 months, their crystallinity, friction coefficient and wear rate were increased, resulting from the swelling reaction on the surface of GO/UHMWPE nanocomposites. In conclusion, the cross-linking by irradiation and GO addition were utilized to synergistically enhance the surface and tribological properties of UHMWPE substrate, which further verifies that it is an effective method to lower the degradation of UHMWPE in SBF. The swelling reaction and anti-wear mechanism were also revealed in this work.

作为一种众所周知的生物材料，超高分子量聚乙烯（UHMWPE）由于其出色的生物相容性，机械性能和抗磨性能而被广泛用作人造关节的基质。在这项工作中，采用氧化石墨烯（GO）和辐射交联来增强UHMWPE基体的性能，然后将GO / UHMWPE纳米复合材料在37℃的模拟体液（SBF）中浸泡6个月，以模拟使用环境人体 结果表明，辐照交联处理将促进UHMWPE和GO分子链的断裂和重组。加入GO，然后进行辐照交联方法，可以提高结晶度和熔点，同时导致基底的摩擦系数和磨损率降低。^–9 g N ^-1  m ^-1在辐射交联和GO添加的同时作用下。然而，在GO / UHMWPE纳米复合材料表面上的溶胀反应导致它们在SBF中浸泡6个月后，其结晶度，摩擦系数和磨损率增加。综上所述，通过辐照交联和GO加入可以协同增强UHMWPE基材的表面和摩擦学性能，这进一步证明这是降低UHMWPE在SBF中降解的有效方法。这项工作还揭示了溶胀反应和抗磨机理。