Issue 21, 2023

Cartilage-bioinspired, tough and lubricated hydrogel based on nanocomposite enhancement effect

Abstract

The maintenance of high load-bearing tissues and joint lubrication is essential for suppressing osteoarthritis. The lubrication of natural joints is mainly attributed to the hydration lubrication mechanism of articular cartilage. Phospholipids on the cartilage surface attract water molecules to form a tough hydrated layer to reduce friction. In this work, inspired by the phosphatidylcholine lipids, we synthesized lubricated nanospheres by grafting hydrophilic polymer brushes and further synthesized a nanocomposite hydrogel. The addition of the lubricated nanospheres enhanced both the mechanical and lubricated properties of the hydrogel. The nanocomposite-lubricated hydrogel exhibited a friction coefficient 81.7% lower than the blank hydrogel because of grafting the polymer brushes. Also, the nanocomposite enhancement helped the hydrogel achieve high mechanical properties with a compressive strength of 6.63 MPa (50%). The nanocomposite hydrogel developed here could be a promising candidate material in bionic articular cartilage substitute materials.

Graphical abstract: Cartilage-bioinspired, tough and lubricated hydrogel based on nanocomposite enhancement effect

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Feb 2023
Accepted
01 May 2023
First published
02 May 2023

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023,11, 4763-4775

Cartilage-bioinspired, tough and lubricated hydrogel based on nanocomposite enhancement effect

F. Xiao, P. Zheng, J. Tang, X. Huang, W. Kang, G. Zhou and K. Sun, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023, 11, 4763 DOI: 10.1039/D3TB00364G

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