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. 2020 Oct 16;370(6514):335-338.
doi: 10.1126/science.aay8276.

Cartilage-inspired, lipid-based boundary-lubricated hydrogels

Weifeng Lin  1 , Monika Kluzek  1 , Noa Iuster  1 , Eyal Shimoni  2 , Nir Kampf  1 , Ronit Goldberg  3 , Jacob Klein  3
Affiliations

Cartilage-inspired, lipid-based boundary-lubricated hydrogels

Weifeng Lin et al. Science. .

Abstract

The lubrication of hydrogels arises from fluid or solvated surface phases. By contrast, the lubricity of articular cartilage, a complex biohydrogel, has been at least partially attributed to nonfluid, lipid-exposing boundary layers. We emulated this behavior in synthetic hydrogels by incorporating trace lipid concentrations to create a molecularly thin, lipid-based boundary layer that renews continuously. We observed a 80% to 99.3% reduction in friction and wear relative to the lipid-free gel, over a wide range of conditions. This effect persists when the gels are dried and then rehydrated. Our approach may provide a method for sustained, extreme lubrication of hydrogels in applications from tissue engineering to clinical diagnostics.

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Comment in

  • Lubricating lipids in hydrogels.
    Schmidt TA. Schmidt TA. Science. 2020 Oct 16;370(6514):288-289. doi: 10.1126/science.abd3831. Science. 2020. PMID: 33060347 No abstract available.

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