Mucin coatings on endotracheal tubes to prevent friction-induced tissue damage and biofouling

虽然生物污染引起的感染已被确定为与气管插管相关的主要并发症，但由插管和拔管过程本身引起的机械组织损伤的影响仍未得到充分研究。本项目的目的是通过模拟体外环境中气管插管的生理性插管和拔管程序来填补这一空白。通过这种设置，我们将通过开发生物聚合物基涂层来优化气管插管的表面特性，该涂层可增加插管表面的润滑性并提高其对生物污染事件的抵抗力，即，蛋白质、脂质、细菌和真核细胞的不希望的吸附。

Whereas biofouling-induced infections have already been identified as a major complication associated with endotracheal intubation, the effects of mechanical tissue damage caused by the in- and extubation process itself remains understudied. The aim of this project is to fill this gap by mimicking the physiological in- and extubation procedure of endotracheal tubings in an ex vivo setting. With this setup, we will optimize the surface properties of endotracheal tubes by developing a biopolymer-based coating that increases the lubricity of the tube surface and improves its resistance towards biofouling events, i.e., the undesired adsorption of proteins, lipids, bacteria and eukaryotic cells.