On February 13, 2026, the official website of the National Medical Products Administration updated the approval information for medical devices: a long-acting lubricating coating based on ethyl silicone oil modification has officially passed Class III medical device certification, becoming the world's first organic silicon coating product approved for use on artificial joint surfaces. This material was developed by a team from the School of Materials Science at a certain university. By introducing natural amino acid segments, the biocompatibility of ethyl silicone oil has been improved to medical grade standards, and the friction coefficient has been reduced to 0.03, which is close to the performance of human cartilage.


In 300 clinical trials conducted at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the coating extended the service life of artificial knee joints from an average of 12 years to 18 years, and reduced the incidence of postoperative complications by 41%. The lead professor explained, "Traditional polyethylene joint surfaces are prone to producing wear particles that can cause inflammation, while ethyl silicone oil coatings can dynamically fill micro damages during friction through molecular self-healing mechanisms. This technology fills the gap in high-end medical lubricating materials in China


According to data from market research institutions, the number of joint replacement surgeries in China will reach 920000 by 2025, with imported materials accounting for over 65%. The breakthrough in domestically produced materials is expected to reduce the cost of single surgical materials by 40%, and is expected to occupy 30% of the market share within three years. It is worth noting that the team has developed ethyl silicone oil based hydrogel dressing at the same time. Clinical tests in the burn department show that the wound healing speed is 27% higher than that of traditional silver ion dressing, and there is no risk of drug resistance. Relevant achievements have been published in the journal Nature Materials.