Conspectus
In the course
of evolution, nature has achieved remarkably lubricated
surfaces, with healthy articular cartilage in the major (synovial)
joints being the prime example, that can last a lifetime as they slide
past each other with ultralow friction (friction coefficient μ
= the force to slide surfaces past each other/load compressing the
surfaces < 0.01) under physiological pressures (up to 10 MPa or
more)). Such properties are unmatched by any man-made materials. The
precise mechanism of low friction between such sliding cartilage tissues,
which is closely related to osteoarthritis (OA), the most widespread
joint disease, affecting hundreds of millions worldwide, has been
studied for nearly a century, but is still not fully understood. Traditionally,
the roles of load bearing by interstitial fluid within the cartilage
bulk and that of thin exuded fluid films at the interface between
the sliding cartilage surfaces have been proposed as the main lubrication
mechanism. More recent work, however, suggests that molecular boundary
layers at the surfaces of articular cartilage and other tissues play
a major role in their lubrication. In particular, in recent years
hydration lubrication has emerged as a new paradigm for boundary lubrication
in aqueous media based on subnanometer hydration shells which massively
reduce frictional dissipation. The vectors of hydration lubrication
include trapped hydrated ions, hydrated surfactants, biological macromolecules,
biomimetic polymers, polyelectrolytes and polyzwitterionic brushes,
and close-packed layers of phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles,
all having in common the exposure of highly hydrated groups at the
slip plane. Among them, vesicles (or bilayers) of PC lipids, which
are the most widespread lipid class in mammals, are exceptionally
efficient lubricating elements as a result of the high hydration of
the phosphocholine headgroups they expose. Such lipids are ubiquitous
in joints, leading to the proposal that macromolecular surface complexes
exposing PC bilayers are responsible for the remarkable lubrication
of cartilage. Cartilage, comprising ∼70% water, may be considered
to be a complex biological hydrogel, and studying the frictional properties
of hydrogels may thus provide new insights into its lubrication mechanisms,
leading in turn to novel, highly lubricious hydrogels that may be
used in a variety of biomedical and other applications. A better understanding
of cartilage lubrication could moreover lead to better treatments
for OA, for example, through intra-articular injections of appropriate
lubricants or through the creation of low-friction hydrogels that
may be used as tissue engineering scaffolds for diseased cartilage.
In this Account, we begin by introducing the concept and origin
of hydration lubrication, extending from the seminal study of lubrication
by hydrated simple ions to more complex systems. We then briefly review
different modes of lubrication in synovial joints, focusing primarily
on boundary lubrication. We con...