Evaluation of the effects of nicotine on the friction of the articular cartilage and the reversion of the estrogen in vitro

Background: Osteoarthritis is a severe disease for menopausal women, especially for those who exposed in the smoking and second hand-smoking. This study investigated the effect of the nicotine and estrogen on the articular cartilage. Methods: The articular cartilages were treated by nicotine and estrogen in vitro. Then the frictional properties and morphology on the surface were investigated using atomic force microscope. Proteoglycan 4(PRG4), as the key boundary lubricant of articular cartilage was characterized. Results: Nicotine down-regulates the friction coefficient and secretion of PRG4 significantly and then the estrogen increase them again. The adhesion forces also showed the same trend due to the content of anti-adhesive PRG4. Discussion: This study demonstrated that the present concentration nicotine has a negative effect on the articular cartilage and the estrogen has a better protecting effect. This may provide a potential guide for OA prevention and treatment.

Analysis of mechanical energy losses in marine diesels

The object of research is marine diesel engine oils, which provide lubrication, cooling and separation of friction surfaces. The subject of the research is the process of ensuring minimum mechanical losses in marine diesel engines. A problematic point in ensuring the lubrication of the cylinder-piston group and motion bearings is the lack of analytical and experimental studies that establish the relationship between the structural characteristics of engine oils and mechanical losses arising in marine internal combustion engines. The degree of orientational ordering of molecules and the thickness of the boundary lubricating layer are considered as the structural characteristics of engine oils. The determination of these values was carried out using the optical method based on the anisotropy of the light absorption coefficient by the boundary lubricant layer and the isotropic volume of the liquid (engine oil). The assessment of the level of mechanical losses arising in marine diesel engines was carried out according to an indirect indicator – the overshoot of the rotational speed and the time to reach the steady state of operation in the event of a change in load. It has been experimentally established that for engine oils used in marine internal combustion engines, the thickness of the boundary layer can be 15–17.5 µm. Motor oils, which are characterized by a higher ordering of molecules and a thickness of the boundary lubricant layer, ensure the flow of transient dynamic processes with less overshoot and a shorter transient time. This ensures the level of minimal mechanical losses occurring in marine diesel engines. The technology for determining the structural characteristics of engine oils can be used for any type and grade of oil (mineral or synthetic; high or low viscosity; used in both circulating and cylinder lubrication systems). The method of indirect assessment of mechanical losses of marine diesel engines can be used for any types of internal combustion engines of ships of sea and river transport (low-, medium- and high-speed; as well as performing the functions of both main and auxiliary engines).

Synovial fluid lubricin increases in spontaneous canine cruciate ligament rupture

Lubricin is an important boundary lubricant and chondroprotective glycoprotein in synovial fluid. Both increased and decreased synovial fluid lubricin concentrations have been reported in experimental post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) animal models and in naturally occurring joint injuries in humans and animals, with no consensus about how lubricin is altered in different species or injury types. Increased synovial fluid lubricin has been observed following intra-articular fracture in humans and horses and in human late-stage osteoarthritis; however, it is unknown how synovial lubricin is affected by knee-destabilizing injuries in large animals. Spontaneous rupture of cranial cruciate ligament (RCCL), the anterior cruciate ligament equivalent in quadrupeds, is a common injury in dogs often accompanied by OA. Here, clinical records, radiographs, and synovial fluid samples from 30 dogs that sustained RCCL and 9 clinically healthy dogs were analyzed. Synovial fluid lubricin concentrations were nearly 16-fold greater in RCCL joints as compared to control joints, while IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α concentrations did not differ between groups. Synovial fluid lubricin concentrations were correlated with the presence of radiographic OA and were elevated in three animals sustaining RCCL injury prior to the radiographic manifestation of OA, indicating that lubricin may be a potential biomarker for early joint injury.

The Role of Hyaluronic Acid in Cartilage Boundary Lubrication

Hydration lubrication has emerged as a new paradigm for lubrication in aqueous and biological media, accounting especially for the extremely low friction (friction coefficients down to 0.001) of articular cartilage lubrication in joints. Among the ensemble of molecules acting in the joint, phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipids have been proposed as the key molecules forming, in a complex with other molecules including hyaluronic acid (HA), a robust layer on the outer surface of the cartilage. HA, ubiquitous in synovial joints, is not in itself a good boundary lubricant, but binds the PC lipids at the cartilage surface; these, in turn, massively reduce the friction via hydration lubrication at their exposed, highly hydrated phosphocholine headgroups. An important unresolved issue in this scenario is why the free HA molecules in the synovial fluid do not suppress the lubricity by adsorbing simultaneously to the opposing lipid layers, i.e., forming an adhesive, dissipative bridge between them, as they slide past each other during joint articulation. To address this question, we directly examined the friction between two hydrogenated soy PC (HSPC) lipid layers (in the form of liposomes) immersed in HA solution or two palmitoyl–oleoyl PC (POPC) lipid layers across HA–POPC solution using a surface force balance (SFB). The results show, clearly and surprisingly, that HA addition does not affect the outstanding lubrication provided by the PC lipid layers. A possible mechanism indicated by our data that may account for this is that multiple lipid layers form on each cartilage surface, so that the slip plane may move from the midplane between the opposing surfaces, which is bridged by the HA, to an HA-free interface within a multilayer, where hydration lubrication is freely active. Another possibility suggested by our model experiments is that lipids in synovial fluid may complex with HA, thereby inhibiting the HA molecules from adhering to the lipids on the cartilage surfaces.

Lubrication in Tight Spots

This chapter discusses the interesting phenomena that happen when the thickness of a lubricant film is reduced to nanoscale dimensions. For liquid lubricants sandwiched between two solid surfaces, the interesting phenomena associated with confined liquids include: molecules forming a layered structure, enhanced viscosity, and solidification. In boundary lubrication, an adsorbed monolayer resists penetration of contacting asperities and sliding takes place over the low shear strength surface of the boundary lubricant. The absence of boundary lubrication can lead to cold welding where adhesion at the interface leads to ultra-high friction and seizure. The last part of this chapter discusses how capillary and disjoining pressures lead to the formation of lubricant menisci around contacting asperities from a thin lubricant film on one of the surfaces and how these menisci influence adhesion and friction. The kinetics of meniscus formation from capillary condensation and its impact on friction are also discussed.

Novel One-Component Anisole- and Hydroxyl-Terminated Perfluoropolyethers for Boundary Lubrication

The tribological properties of some novel single component perfluoropolyether (PFPE) boundary lubricants with chemically integrated mixture end groups are investigated. Chemically integrated mixture end groups composed of hydroxyl- and anisole-terminated PFPE boundary lubricant films on the –(CF2CF2CF2O)– main chain are reported. These PFPE-based boundary lubricants explore a new method by which single component PFPE lubricants with mixture end groups might be used to tailor boundary film properties instead of using physical mixtures of two or more PFPEs with different end groups. Lubricant transfer to the low-flying read/write head, head wear, and siloxane adsorption as a function of PFPE film thickness and of type are compared. Normalization of the data to the monolayer fraction instead of film thickness allows direct comparison between anisole- and hydroxyl-terminated PFPEs. Lubricant transfer to the head and head wear are independent of the functional end groups. Siloxane adsorption decreases with increasing anisole substitution of the hydroxyl groups. One-component PFPEs with mixed end groups provide a methodology by which boundary film properties could be adjusted.

The Effect of Agglomeration Reduction on the Tribological Behavior of WS2 and MoS2 Nanoparticle Additives in the Boundary Lubrication Regime

This study investigates the impact of different surfactants and dispersion techniques on the friction and wear behavior of WS2 and MoS2 nanoparticles additives in a Polyalphaolefin (PAO) base oil under boundary lubrication conditions. The nanoparticles were dispersed using Oleic acid (OA) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to investigate their impact on particle agglomeration. The size distribution of the dispersed nanoparticles in PAO was measured by dynamic light scattering. The nanoparticles treated using PVP resulted in the most stable particle size. Friction studies showed that nanoparticle agglomeration reduction and the homogeneity of the suspension did not significantly impact the friction reduction behavior of the lubricant. Reciprocating wear experiments showed that, for our test conditions, both WS2 and MoS2 nano additives exhibited maximum wear depth reduction (45%) when using the PVP surface treatment compared to base oil. The wear results confirmed the significance of minimizing agglomeration and promoting high dispersion in promoting favorable wear resistance under boundary lubricant conditions. Analysis of the wear surfaces showed that a tribofilm formation was the primary wear reduction mechanism for WS2 particles treated by PVP while, in the case of MoS2 treated by PVP, the mechanism was load sharing via particles rolling and/or sliding at the interface.

SLIDING BEARING DIAGNOSTICS

An explanation of electrophysical sounding method using for sliding bearing diagnostics at a boundary friction is given. Electrical circuits and a sliding bearing diagnostic way, where the control analysis of a boundary lubricant layer (BLL) thickness is realized indirectly in accordance with contact resistance parameters are developed. The sliding bearing greasing state is defined according to installed threshold values in advance which achievement defines it operating regime.