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Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,28]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Joining heterogeneous materials in engineered structures remains a significant challenge due to stress concentration at interfaces, which often leads to unexpected failures. Investigating the complex, multiscale-graded structures found in animal tissue provides valuable insights that can help address this challenge. The human meniscus root\u2013bone interface is an exemplary model, renowned for its exceptional fatigue resistance, toughness, and interfacial adhesion properties throughout its lifespan. Here, we investigated the multiscale graded mineralization structure and their strengthening mechanisms within the 30-micron soft\u2013hard interface at the root\u2013bone junction. This graded interface, featuring interdigitated structures and an exponential increase in modulus, undergoes a phase transition from amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) to gradually matured hydroxyapatite (HAP) crystals, regulated by location-specific distributed biomolecules. In coordination with collagen fibril deformation and reorientation, the in situ tensile mechanical experiments and molecular dynamic simulations revealed that immature ACP particles debond from the collagenous matrix and translocate to dissipate energy, while the progressively matured HAP crystals with high stiffness pins propagating cracks, thereby enhancing both the toughness and fatigue resistance of the interface. To further validate our findings, we built biomimetic soft\u2013hard interfaces with phase-transforming mineralization which exhibited boosted strength, toughness, and interface adhesion. This interface model is generalizable to other material joints and provides a blueprint for developing robust soft\u2013hard composites across various applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2416085122","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,24]],"date-time":"2025-01-24T12:46:16Z","timestamp":1737722776000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["A tough soft\u2013hard interface in the human knee joint driven by multiscale toughening mechanisms"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"122","author":[{"given":"Wenyue","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sports Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, and Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University School of Medicine","place":["Hangzhou, China"]},{"name":"Dr. Li Dak Sum & Yip Yio Chin Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine","place":["Hangzhou, 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China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Renwei","family":"Mao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Engineering Mechanics, Zhejiang University","place":["Hangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4484-8738","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dong","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University","place":["Singapore, Singapore"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-1867-5301","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hongxu","family":"Meng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sports Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, and Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University School of Medicine","place":["Hangzhou, China"]},{"name":"Dr. Li Dak Sum & Yip Yio Chin Center for Stem Cells and 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Tseng Data from \u201cImage processing and analysis tools.\u201d Google sites. https:\/\/sites.google.com\/site\/qingzongtseng\/imagejplugins. Accessed 23 April 2023."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_62_2","unstructured":"J. Blaber Data from \u201cNcorr algorithm and guidance.\u201d Ncorr.com. https:\/\/ncorr.com\/index.php. 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