Selecting suitable tribo-pairs is crucial for measuring the tribological properties of the blinking process, especially for dry eye disease (DED) research. The tribo-pairs, lubricants, loads, and sliding speeds used in the friction models reported so far vary greatly, which limits the development of artificial tear formulations that could be effective in treating the effects of DED. This study compares tribo-pairs under the same experimental conditions and provides a test model closer to the real physiological blinking environment. This study proposes to use the porcine eyeball-eyelid tribo-pair as an ex vitro tissue friction model to explore the tribological behavior during blinking. Additionally, the presence of mucin on the eyelids and cornea was detected. The tribo-pair was compared with the eyeball-glass and eyeball-mucin coated glass tribo-pairs in terms of friction coefficient, relief time, and wear. Artificial tribo-pairs such as contact lens-glass or contact lens-mucin coated glass were not included because of their irrelevance to DED. The results showed that the static friction coefficient of the eyelid/eyeball tribo-pairs was significantly lower than that of the bare glass/eyeball group. In addition, its dynamic friction coefficient was higher than that of the glass/eyeball tribo-pairs, but the friction damage caused was lower than that of the glass/eyeball group. The relief period (RP) of the eyelid/eyeball tribo-pair was significantly higher than that of bare glass and mucin-coated glass, showing stronger hydrophilicity within this system. To conduct relevant DED research, it is critical to simulate the natural eyelid-eyeball friction system as realistically as possible. Despite its limitations, the use of the porcine eye as an in vitro model provides a structurally and biomechanically realistic platform to capture the key interactions between the eyelid and the ocular surface. This approach allows for a more accurate assessment of friction, tear film dynamics, and therapeutic interventions in dry eye.

Inspired by nature, hydrophilic diblock brush copolymers containing both phosphorylcholine groups and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) side chains were synthesized by successive reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of the zwitterionic monomer 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) and the PEO-containing macromonomer poly(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate (PEOMEMA) for the first time. The lubricating effect of several diblock brush copolymers and one gradient copolymer of MPC and PEOMEMA was evaluated by tribological measurements in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)–glass and cartilage–glass systems which were placed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solutions of the polymers. The best lubrication was provided by the diblock copolymer with a relatively long poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (pMPC) block and the copolymer of gradient structure. The average dynamic coefficient of friction (COF) in the PDMS–glass system at a copolymer concentration of0.4 mg/mL was only 0.004–0.007, while COF values of the copolymers in the cartilage–glass system after 450 sliding cycles reached 0.06–0.07. The excellent lubrication effect of the diblock and gradient copolymers of MPC and PEOMEMA is attributed to hydration lubrication provided by pMPC synergistically combined with steric repulsion from PEOMEMA. Entrapment of diblock brush copolymers between sliding surfaces was sufficient to provide effective lubrication, thus enhancing the efficacy of the diblock brush copolymers as potential additives for intraarticular injections.