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The development of highly effective bio‐lubricant coatings for arthritis treatment is extremely demanded. Herein, inspired by the efficient lubrication of articular cartilage, acrylic acid (AA) with (3‐(methacryloylamino) propyl) dimethyl (3‐sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide (MPDSAH) hydrogel coatings containing nanoparticles on Ti6Al4V substrate were designed and fabricated via UV grafting technology. SiO2 and SiO2 grafted with PAA polymer brushes (SiO2‐g‐PAA) were separately doped into the PAA‐PMPDSAH hydrogel. The PAA‐PMPDSAH/SiO2‐g‐PAA exhibits good tensile and compressive properties compared with PAA‐PMPDSAH/SiO2 hydrogel, with an enhancement of 183.4% in tensile modulus and 60.8% in compressive modulus. The PAA‐PMPDSAH/SiO2‐g‐PAA hydrogel coatings exhibit a low wear volume, 2.9 ± 0.16 × 106 μm3, representing a decline of 32.1% and 61.3% compared with the PAA‐PMPDSAH and PAA‐PMPDSAH/SiO2 hydrogel coatings, respectively. The antiwear performance has obviously improved. The hydrophilic PAA polymer brushes prevent the agglomeration of nanoparticles and promote homogeneously dispersion within the hydrogel. The three‐dimensional crosslinked network structure of hydrogel effectively protects the structural integrity of the polymer brushes, thereby facilitating enduring lubrication properties. This work provides a strategy for promising artificial joint lubrication in biomedical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR) is a medicinal herb commonly used in China and Eastern Asia. Recently, the discovery of hepatotoxicity in PMR has received considerable attention from scientists. Processing is a traditional Chinese medicine technique used for the effective reduction of toxicity. One uncommon technique is the braising method—also known as 'Wen‐Fa' in Chinese—which is used to prepare tonics or poisonous medications. Braised PMR (BPMR)—also known as 'Wen‐He‐Shou‐Wu'—is one of the processed products of the braising method. However, the non‐volatile components of BPMR have not been identified and examined in detail, and therefore, the hepatotoxic advantage of BPMR remains unknown. In this study, we compared the microscopic characteristics of different samples in powder form using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), investigated the non‐volatile components, assessed the effects of different processed PMR products on the liver, and compared the differences between BPMR and PMR Praeparata recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition). We found that the hepatotoxicity of BPMR was dramatically decreased, which may be related to an increase in polysaccharide content and a decrease in toxic substances. The present study provides an important foundation for future investigations of the processing mechanisms of BPMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of coatings with efficient lubrication and load-bearing capacity is an urgent need for artificial joints. Here, we successfully fabricated poly (acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)/polyethyleneimine (P(AA-co-AAm)/PEI) coating on titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) surface via UV irradiation and thermal treatment technique. The dual crosslinked network structures were composed of a P(AA-co-AAm) network via free radical polymerization and a PAA-co-PEI network via thermal crosslinking of amine and carboxyl groups. The thermally crosslinked P(AA-co-AAm)/PEI coatings exhibit a stable low friction coefficient (approximately 0.022) and exceptionally low wear volume, with a 93.8% and 92.6% reduction, respectively, in comparison to the pristine Ti6Al4V. These thermally crosslinked P(AA-co-AAm)/PEI hydrogel coatings exhibit excellent lubrication and anti-wear properties, providing a strategy for developing novel lubricating coatings in the biomedical field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]