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Gemini Interfaces in Aqueous Lubrication with Hydrogels

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Abstract

The sliding interfaces found in the body—within the eyes, the digestive system, and the articulating joints, for example—are soft and permeable yet extremely robust, possessing low friction. The common elements among these systems are hydrophilic biopolymer networks that provide physical surfaces, elasticity, and fluid permeability. Stiff, impermeable probes are traditionally used to assess the frictional properties of most surfaces, including soft, permeable materials. However, both sides of physiological articulating interfaces are soft and hydrated. Measuring the friction response on just one-half of the cornea–eyelid interface or the cartilage–cartilage interface using a stiff, impermeable probe may not reproduce physiological lubrication. Here, we present lubricity measurements of the interface between two soft, hydrated, and permeable hydrogels. We explore the distinctions between the self-mated “Gemini” hydrogel interface and hydrogels sliding against hard impermeable countersurfaces. A rigid impermeable probe sliding against a soft permeable hydrogel exhibits strong frictional dependence on sliding speed, and a hydrogel probe sliding against flat glass shows a strong friction dependence on time in contact. The twin Gemini interface shows very low friction μ < 0.06, with little dependence on sliding speed or time in contact. This consistently low-friction Gemini interface emulates the physiological condition of two like permeable surfaces in contact, providing excellent lubricity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Professor Duncan Dowson and Professor Nic Spencer for patient and scholarly discussions. Additionally, we are indebted to Professor Philippa Cann and Dr. Connor Myant for their thoughts on aqueous lubrication. This work was funded by Alcon Laboratories, and we thank Mr. Allen Gilliard for fabricating the hydrogel probe polyolefin molds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Alison C. Dunn, W. Gregory Sawyer & Thomas E. Angelini

  2. J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Thomas E. Angelini

  3. Institute for Cell Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Thomas E. Angelini

Authors
  1. Alison C. Dunn
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  2. W. Gregory Sawyer
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  3. Thomas E. Angelini
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Correspondence to W. Gregory Sawyer.

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Dunn, A.C., Sawyer, W.G. & Angelini, T.E. Gemini Interfaces in Aqueous Lubrication with Hydrogels. Tribol Lett 54, 59–66 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-014-0308-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-014-0308-1

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