New experimental model of pulmonary surfactant for biophysical studies
2017
Sosnowski, Tomasz R. | Kubski, Paweł | Wojciechowski, Kamil
Biophysical studies of pulmonary surfactant, PS, provide the possibility to assess the roles of physicochemical phenomena in physiological functions of this mixture of biosurfactants lining the surface of lung’s alveoli. In particular they help to understand the possible alterations of PS functions by inhaled compounds (aerosols or gases). Most experimental studies are based on either multicomponent animal or human-derived PS or its essential constituents. The present study proposes a new functional experimental model of PS for studying the interfacial dynamics in the Langmuir balance and other experimental setups. The model is based on a novel application of a mixture of biosurfactants of plant origin, Quillaja bark saponins (QBS), to enhance the phospholipid mass exchange between the interface and the liquid subphase. The response of the interface during periodic variations of the gas-liquid surface area is represented by a reproducible surface tension hysteresis, which is known to be an essential marker of PS activity. The results indicate that the proposed system may be useful in further biophysical studies related to pulmonary surfactant dynamics.
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