I-Corps: Polymer Lung Surfactants for Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种治疗呼吸窘迫综合征（RDS）的新方法。这项技术使用了一种新型治疗剂，叫做？高分子肺表面活性剂？RDS是一种危及生命的疾病，主要发生在早产婴儿身上。导致RDS的原因是婴儿体内缺乏一种叫做肺表面活性剂的化合物。肺。目前，RDS的标准治疗包括向患者注射动物源性肺表面活性剂化合物。年代的肺。然而，这种动物源性处理有主要缺点：(1)收获过程有致病性污染的风险；(2)这些传统的肺表面活性剂（含有易变性的蛋白质）需要复杂的递送程序，只能在有熟练医疗保健专业人员和先进护理设施的地方进行。由于这些因素，RDS仍然是一个严重的问题，特别是在不发达国家。现有方法的这些显著缺陷为本文开发的新型聚合物肺表面活性剂技术提供了潜在的机会。这个I-Corps项目将开发一种全合成材料（聚合物），作为治疗呼吸窘迫综合征（RDS）的昂贵脂基配方的廉价替代品。肺表面活性剂在肺中起着至关重要的作用。通过降低肺泡表面张力来处理空气的能力。对于潜在的肺表面活性剂应用，有希望的候选材料已经被确定，能够复制天然肺表面活性剂的表面张力降低特性。这项研究将促进对某些聚合物如何能够在动态压缩下产生极低的空气-水界面张力（类似于天然肺表面活性剂）以及哪些分子因素促成了这些行为的理解。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a new method of treating Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS). This technology utilizes a new type of therapeutic agent, called ?polymer lung surfactants?. RDS is a life-threatening condition that occurs primarily in infants who are born prematurely. The cause of RDS is the lack of chemical compounds called lung surfactants in the infant?s lungs. Currently, the standard treatment for RDS involves injection of animal-derived lung surfactant compounds into the patient?s lung. However, this animal-derived treatment has major drawbacks: (1) the harvesting process carries the risk of pathogenic contamination; (2) these conventional lung surfactants (containing proteins susceptible to denaturation) require sophisticated delivery procedures that can only be practiced in locations where skilled healthcare professionals and advanced care facilities are available. Due to these factors, RDS remains a serious problem, particularly, in under-developed countries. These significant drawbacks of the current methods offers a potential opportunity for the new polymer lung surfactant technology developed here.This I-Corps project will develop a fully synthetic material (polymers) as a cheaper replacement for costly lipid-based formulations for treatment of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Lung surfactant plays a critical role in the lung?s ability to process air by lowering alveolar surface tension. For potential lung surfactant applications promising candidate materials have been identified that are capable of replicating the surface-tension-lowering properties of natural lung surfactants. The research will advance understanding of how certain polymers are able to produce extremely low air-water interfacial tensions under dynamic compression (similarly to the natural lung surfactant) and what molecular factors contribute to these behaviors.