Background: Understanding molecular and biochemical mechanisms affecting biotribological properties of tissues, biological fluids, and drugs may accelerate the invention of novel drug formulations and targets and facilitate the discovery of etiopathogenetic mechanisms. Unfortunately, biotribometric equipment is expensive and unaffordable. The first aim was to assess whether PASTA, an open-source platform based on a hacked kitchen scale, can be adapted for the analysis of biotribometric properties. The second aim was to demonstrate the use of PASTA by studying the effects of oxidation on the lubricating properties of the commercial water-based lubricant. Methods: The PASTA platform was adapted using a custom-made tribometric adapter attached to the bottom of the hacked kitchen scale connected to a computer via the NodeMCU ESP-32S. A commercial water-based lubricant was oxidized with 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride and/or protected against oxidation with glutathione. The samples were analyzed using a simple tribometric assay with the PASTA platform and the ORP-146S redox microsensor. Results: A mastPASTA custom-made adapter enables the use of PASTA for reliable quantitative tribometric studies. Oxidation of the commercial water-based lubricant does not reduce its lubrication capacity, however, the addition of the antioxidant glutathione protects against the loss of its lubrication capacity upon exposure to air by a redox-unrelated mechanism. Conclusion: PASTA can easily be adapted for studying tribological properties. The effects of the addition of antioxidants to water-based vaginal lubricants should be explored as a possible way to enhance durability and efficacy and increase their health benefits.

中文翻译：

---

一种简单的开源定量摩擦分析方法的建议及其实施，用于评估氧化还原相关变化对商业水基润滑凝胶润滑能力的影响

背景：了解影响组织、生物体液和药物的生物摩擦学特性的分子和生化机制可能会加速新药物制剂和靶点的发明，并有助于发现发病机制。不幸的是，生物摩擦测量设备既昂贵又负担不起。第一个目的是评估 PASTA（一个基于黑客厨房秤的开源平台）是否可以适用于生物摩擦特性分析。第二个目的是通过研究氧化对商业水基润滑剂润滑性能的影响来证明 PASTA 的使用。方法：PASTA 平台使用定制的摩擦计适配器进行调整，该适配器连接到通过 NodeMCU ESP-32S 连接到计算机的黑客厨房秤的底部。用 2,2'-偶氮二（2-脒基丙烷）二盐酸盐氧化商业水基润滑剂和/或用谷胱甘肽防止氧化。使用 PASTA 平台和 ORP-146S 氧化还原微传感器对样品进行简单的摩擦分析。结果：mastPASTA 定制适配器使 PASTA 能够用于可靠的定量摩擦研究。商业水基润滑剂的氧化不会降低其润滑能力，但是，添加抗氧化剂谷胱甘肽可防止其在暴露于空气时通过与氧化还原无关的机制失去润滑能力。结论：PASTA 可以很容易地适用于研究摩擦学特性。