Aqueous Lubrication: A Self-Assembled Binary Protein Model Explains High-Performance Salivary Lubrication from Macro to Nanoscale (Adv. Mater. Interfaces 1/2020)

Salivary pellicle is an outstanding bio-lubricant that coats and protects our tongue, teeth and oral mucosa. Supported by sophisticated multi-scale tribological analyses and real-time adsorption techniques coupled with self-consistent field theory calculations, Anwesha Sarkar and co-workers demonstrate in article number 1901549 for the first time that the unique lubrication performance of salivary pellicle is a result of electrostatic self-assembly between hydrated mucin proteins and positively-charged protein, latter acting as a ‘molecular glue’ between the mucin-mucin and mucin-surface.