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Recent Progress in Cartilage Lubrication
Author(s) -
Lin Weifeng,
Klein Jacob
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.202005513
Subject(s) - cartilage , lubrication , boundary lubrication , materials science , osteoarthritis , synovial joint , articular cartilage , tribology , joint (building) , synovial fluid , biomedical engineering , nanotechnology , composite material , anatomy , structural engineering , biology , medicine , engineering , pathology , alternative medicine
Healthy articular cartilage, covering the ends of bones in major joints such as hips and knees, presents the most efficiently‐lubricated surface known in nature, with friction coefficients as low as 0.001 up to physiologically high pressures. Such low friction is indeed essential for its well‐being. It minimizes wear‐and‐tear and hence the cartilage degradation associated with osteoarthritis, the most common joint disease, and, by reducing shear stress on the mechanotransductive, cartilage‐embedded chondrocytes (the only cell type in the cartilage), it regulates their function to maintain homeostasis. Understanding the origins of such low friction of the articular cartilage, therefore, is of major importance in order to alleviate disease symptoms, and slow or even reverse its breakdown. This progress report considers the relation between frictional behavior and the cellular mechanical environment in the cartilage, then reviews the mechanism of lubrication in the joints, in particular focusing on boundary lubrication. Following recent advances based on hydration lubrication, a proposed synergy between different molecular components of the synovial joints, acting together in enabling the low friction, has been proposed. Additionally, recent development of natural and bio‐inspired lubricants is reviewed.