Supramolecular Dynamics of Mucus

Our purpose here is not to address specific issues of mucus pathology, but to illustrate how polymer networks theory and its remarkable predictive power can be applied to study the supramolecular dynamics of mucus. Avoiding unnecessary mathematical formalization, in the light of available theory, we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine Vol. 2; no. 11; p. a009597
Main Author Verdugo, P.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 01.11.2012
Subjects
Gels
Humans
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Kinetics
Molecular Conformation
Mucins - chemistry
Mucus - chemistry
Mucus - physiology
Phase Transition
Polymers - chemistry
Respiratory System
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ISSN2157-1422
2472-5412
DOI10.1101/cshperspect.a009597

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Summary:Our purpose here is not to address specific issues of mucus pathology, but to illustrate how polymer networks theory and its remarkable predictive power can be applied to study the supramolecular dynamics of mucus. Avoiding unnecessary mathematical formalization, in the light of available theory, we focus on the rather slow progress and the still large number of missing gaps in the complex topology and supramolecular dynamics of airway mucus. We start with the limited information on the polymer physics of respiratory mucins to then converge on the supramolecular organization and resulting physical properties of the mucus gel. In each section, we briefly discuss progress on the subject, the uncertainties associated with the established knowledge, and the many riddles that still remain.
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ISSN:2157-1422
2472-5412
DOI:10.1101/cshperspect.a009597