The Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund

Tufts University

Tulane Educational Fund

Noshir Pesika

David L Kaplan

Vijay Thomas John

Xiaoqin Wang

Rubo Zheng

Kejia Jin

Keijia Jin

Tushar Khosla

A medical device for cooperating with a body surface of a patient includes an elastically deformable substrate having a first surface, a second surface, and a plurality of pores extending from the first surface towards the second surface to define a plurality of spaced-apart projections. A lubricant is provided in the pores. Applying a compressive force to the substrate with the body surface elastically deforms the projections to displace the lubricant out of the pores and provide hydrodynamic lubrication between the medical device and the body surface.

Load-induced hydrodynamic lubrication of porous substrates

Provided herein relates to compositions and methods for lubrication of a surface. The surface amenable to the compositions and methods described herein can be a non-biological surface, a biological surface, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the composition comprising a phospholipid-coated silk microsphere can be used for lubrication of a surface. In some embodiments, the composition comprising a phospholipid-coated silk microsphere can be used for joint lubrication, e.g., for treatment of joint disorders such as arthritis.

Silk microspheres and methods for surface lubrication

The present invention relates to an easy, scalable method, relying on conventional and unconventional techniques, to incorporate tilt in the fabrication of synthetic polymer-based dry adhesives mimicking the gecko adhesive system. These dry, reversible adhesives demonstrate anisotropic adhesion properties, providing strong adhesion and friction forces when actuated in the gripping direction and an initial repulsive normal force and negligible friction when actuated in the releasing direction.

Use of shear to incorporate tilt into the microstructure of reversible gecko-inspired adhesives

Growing community of inventors

New Orleans, LA, United States of America

Noshir Pesika