Biotribology and Soft Tribology Advances for Engineering Applications

Dear Colleagues,

The physical interactions among biological systems, soft materials, and engineered surfaces represent a rapidly evolving frontier in modern mechanical design, manufacturing, and applications. Conventional tribology often fails to adequately capture the complex interfacial contact force behaviors of natural and compliant systems. To address this, this Special Issue, “Biotribology and Soft Tribology Advances for Engineering Applications”, investigates the fundamental mechanisms of friction, wear, lubrication, and deformation in both biological systems (e.g., synovial joints, dental interfaces, skin contacts, and ocular surfaces) and low-modulus materials (e.g., elastomers, polymers, and hydrogels).

The primary aim of this Special Issue is to bridge the gap between fundamental biotribology and practical engineering solutions. By translating biomechanical and micro/nano-scale material interactions into practical design methodologies, we seek to drive innovation across multiple disciplines. We welcome contributions that apply foundational tribological insights to fields such as healthcare, soft robotics, medical devices, wearable technology, and real-world human-centric applications (such as hand-object interactions and sports equipment). Ultimately, we aim to highlight interdisciplinary research that addresses critical challenges in material durability, ergonomic design, and system performance, accelerating the development of next-generation bio-inspired technologies.

Dr. Zing Siang Lee
Prof. Dr. Matt Carre
Prof. Dr. Roger Lewis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Lubricants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.