Year: 2012
Journal: Soft Matter, 2012,8, 10241-10244, 20130118
Authors: Chao Liu a, Min Wang a, Junxue An a, Esben Thormann a, Andra Dėdinaitė *ab
Last authors: Andra Dėdinaitė
Organizations: a KTH Royal Institute of Technology, School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Surface and Corrosion Science, Drottning Kristinas väg 51, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: andra.dedinaite@kth.surfchem.se; Fax: +46 (8)208998; Tel: +46 (8)790 9905 b YKI Institute for Surface Chemistry, Box 5607, SE-114 86 Stockholm, Sweden
Country: Sweden, Sverige
Hyaluronan has been found to play an important role in boundary lubrication in joints, but model experiments have shown that free hyaluronan is reluctant to stay between surfaces. We show that hyaluronan, when assisted by a phospholipid bilayer, can act as a boundary lubricant, even at pressures well above those leading to breakdown of cartilage.
