Studying Lubricin Solutions and the Determinants of Their Low Friction

Synovial joints can support high pressures and provide extremely low friction coefficients in biological systems. Previous studies show Lubricin is a key element for providing this excellent lubrication. The goal of my project is to dissect the molecular determinants of lubricin's function in reducing the friction in synovial joints by using atomistic and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. The knowledge harnessed in these simulations will be fed into continuum mechanics models to examine lubrication at a larger micrometer length scale of the joint, in collaboration with the Pastewka group within project P1. This study will show how the heavily charged and disordered protein lubricin molecular chains, their conformational propensities, and constraints efficiently reduce friction at joints.