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Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Tunable transition from hydration to monomer-supported lubrication in zwitterionic monolayers revealed by molecular
Christoph Klein1, Christopher R Iacovella, Clare McCabe
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA. peter.cummings@vanderbilt.edu.
Abstract:
The tribology of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine monolayers in water is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show two distinct shear regimes where the first is dominated by hydration lubrication, exhibiting near zero friction coefficients, and the second by chain-chain interactions, resembling monomer-supported lubrication. These results provide insight into the hydration lubrication mechanism - a phenomena thought to underlie the extremely efficient lubrication provided by surfaces functionalized with polyzwitterionic polymer brushes and the mammalian synovial joint.

