Gels That Serve as Mucus Simulants: A Review
Mucus is a critical part of the human body’s immune system that traps and carries away various particulates such as anthropogenic pollutants, pollen, viruses, etc. Various synthetic hydrogels have been developed to mimic mucus, using different polymers as their backbones. Common to these simulants i...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Gels |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/9/7/555 |
| _version_ | 1797589188584931328 |
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| author | Appu Vinod Rafael Tadmor David Katoshevski Ephraim J. Gutmark |
| author_facet | Appu Vinod Rafael Tadmor David Katoshevski Ephraim J. Gutmark |
| author_sort | Appu Vinod |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mucus is a critical part of the human body’s immune system that traps and carries away various particulates such as anthropogenic pollutants, pollen, viruses, etc. Various synthetic hydrogels have been developed to mimic mucus, using different polymers as their backbones. Common to these simulants is a three-dimensional gel network that is physically crosslinked and is capable of loosely entrapping water within. Two of the challenges in mimicking mucus using synthetic hydrogels include the need to mimic the rheological properties of the mucus and its ability to capture particulates (its adhesion mechanism). In this paper, we review the existing mucus simulants and discuss their rheological, adhesive, and tribological properties. We show that most, but not all, simulants indeed mimic the rheological properties of the mucus; like mucus, most hydrogel mucus simulants reviewed here demonstrated a higher storage modulus than its loss modulus, and their values are in the range of that found in mucus. However, only one mimics the adhesive properties of the mucus (which are critical for the ability of mucus to capture particulates), Polyvinyl alcohol–Borax hydrogel. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:02:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a304f8ced01947a49bbb85397c3db12b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2310-2861 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:02:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gels |
| spelling | doaj.art-a304f8ced01947a49bbb85397c3db12b2023-11-18T19:27:52ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612023-07-019755510.3390/gels9070555Gels That Serve as Mucus Simulants: A ReviewAppu Vinod0Rafael Tadmor1David Katoshevski2Ephraim J. Gutmark3Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, IsraelDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, IsraelDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, IsraelDepartment of Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USAMucus is a critical part of the human body’s immune system that traps and carries away various particulates such as anthropogenic pollutants, pollen, viruses, etc. Various synthetic hydrogels have been developed to mimic mucus, using different polymers as their backbones. Common to these simulants is a three-dimensional gel network that is physically crosslinked and is capable of loosely entrapping water within. Two of the challenges in mimicking mucus using synthetic hydrogels include the need to mimic the rheological properties of the mucus and its ability to capture particulates (its adhesion mechanism). In this paper, we review the existing mucus simulants and discuss their rheological, adhesive, and tribological properties. We show that most, but not all, simulants indeed mimic the rheological properties of the mucus; like mucus, most hydrogel mucus simulants reviewed here demonstrated a higher storage modulus than its loss modulus, and their values are in the range of that found in mucus. However, only one mimics the adhesive properties of the mucus (which are critical for the ability of mucus to capture particulates), Polyvinyl alcohol–Borax hydrogel.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/9/7/555mucussynthetic hydrogelspolymersgel networks |
| spellingShingle | Appu Vinod Rafael Tadmor David Katoshevski Ephraim J. Gutmark Gels That Serve as Mucus Simulants: A Review Gels mucus synthetic hydrogels polymers gel networks |
| title | Gels That Serve as Mucus Simulants: A Review |
| title_full | Gels That Serve as Mucus Simulants: A Review |
| title_fullStr | Gels That Serve as Mucus Simulants: A Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gels That Serve as Mucus Simulants: A Review |
| title_short | Gels That Serve as Mucus Simulants: A Review |
| title_sort | gels that serve as mucus simulants a review |
| topic | mucus synthetic hydrogels polymers gel networks |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/9/7/555 |
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