The bearing surfaces of a natural synovial joint are covered with a specialized type of hyaline cartilage, termed articular cartilage, which protects the joint interface from mechanical wear and facilitates a smooth motion of joints during daily activity. Articular cartilage consists of chondrocytes surrounded by extracellular matrix macromolecules and surface active phospholipids. Owing to the charge on these molecules, they can trap water to maintain the water-fluid and electrolyte balance within the articular cartilage tissue, making it highly hydrophilic and providing an effective boundary lubricant. Based on an inspiration from nature, biomimetic technology has been a highly successful approach to producing artificial tissues and implants. Therefore, the strategy of investigating and then reproducing the natural bearing surfaces in artificial joints by using a phospholipid polymer in order to mimic the role of cartilage has great potential. In this review, we introduce the development and clinical application of the cross-linked polyethylene modified by grafting with the poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) for joint replacement. Such works are of great importance in the design of lubricated surfaces for artificial joints, and in better understanding the lubrication mechanisms of both natural and artificial joints.
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