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Cited by 355

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Supramolecular synergy in the boundary lubrication of synovial joints

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Seror, Jasmine, Zhu, Linyi, Goldberg, Ronit, Day, Anthony J., Klein, Jacob·2015·Nature Communications
DOI 10.1038/ncomms7497
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Abstract

Hyaluronan, lubricin and phospholipids, molecules ubiquitous in synovial joints, such as hips and knees, have separately been invoked as the lubricants responsible for the remarkable lubrication of articular cartilage; but alone, these molecules cannot explain the extremely low friction at the high pressures of such joints. We find that surface-anchored hyaluronan molecules complex synergistically with phosphatidylcholine lipids present in joints to form a boundary lubricating layer, which, with coefficient of friction μ≈0.001 at pressures to over 100 atm, has a frictional behaviour resembling that of articular cartilage in the major joints. Our findings point to a scenario where each of the molecules has a different role but must act together with the others: hyaluronan, anchored at the outer surface of articular cartilage by lubricin molecules, complexes with joint phosphatidylcholines to provide the extreme lubrication of synovial joints via the hydration–lubrication mechanism.

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Research works printed but not linked: 38

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Metadata

Authors
Seror, J., Zhu, L., Goldberg, R., Day, A. J., & Klein, J.
Venue
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-03-10
Volume
6
Issue
1
Pages
6497-6497
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/ncomms7497
OpenAlex
W2013973141
Cited by
355
References
13
FWCI
24.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
gold
Licence

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Supramolecular synergy in the boundary lubrication of synovial joints. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/ncomms7497
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Seror, J., Zhu, L., Goldberg, R., Day, A. J., & Klein, J. (2015). Supramolecular synergy in the boundary lubrication of synovial joints. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7497

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