Translation of an innovative microgel technology for improving swallowing in the elderly

口干是由于唾液流量减少/缺乏润滑性所致，在英国至少有1000万人受到影响，其中主要是老年人。口腔干燥在很大程度上是由与年龄有关的慢性/神经生殖疾病和多种药物引起的，它显著增加了患龋齿、牙周病、念珠菌病、口腔溃疡和吞咽困难的风险--所有这些都对老年人的营养状况和生活质量产生了不利影响。市面上有许多唾液替代品，但由于其较差的润滑性能，没有一种能够提供长期缓解，从而迫使患者整天重复使用口腔喷雾才能进食。随之而来的营养不良影响着130万65岁以上的人，每年导致73亿GB的损失。我们最近申请了一种创新的、高度润滑的唾液替代品，用于治疗口干症患者，比目前市场上销售的唾液替代产品和自然润滑的人类唾液提供95%的有效润滑和50%的缓解期。我们的技术形成了一种粘性流体膜，它滋润/润滑口腔(由于生物聚合物水凝胶的水包裹，改善了水合作用)，并在摄入后保持吸附在人的舌头/上颚上(由于高效吸附蛋白质微凝胶，保持持久的水合作用)。除了技术开发，我们还证明了扩大规模的可行性和合规性。我们的新型润滑剂将克服市面上销售的水性润滑剂性能不佳的瓶颈，并肯定有助于解决老年人长期面临的吞咽问题。这项奖励将允许进行进一步的原则证明工作，包括制造符合安全要求的医疗设备，评估其成本，并建立强大的商业案例。

Dry mouth, due to a reduction/absence of salivary flow/lubricity, affects at least 10 million people in the UK, predominantly elders. Largely driven by age-related chronic/neurogenerative diseases and polypharmacy, oral dryness significantly increases the risk of dental caries, periodontal diseases, candidiasis, oral ulceration, and dysphagia - all of which adversely impact the nutritional status and quality of life of elderly people. Numerous salivary replacers are commercially available, but none offers long-lasting relief due to their poor lubrication properties, thus forcing sufferers to use mouth spray repeatedly all day long to be able to eat. Subsequent malnutrition, which affects 1.3 million over-65s, results in a £7.3 billion annual loss.We have recently patented an innovative, highly lubricating saliva substitute for dry mouth sufferers, which offers 95% more effective lubrication and a 50% longer relief period than both currently marketed saliva-replacing products and the naturally lubricating human saliva. Our technology forms a viscous fluid film that moistens/lubricates the mouth (lubricity-improving hydration thanks to the water-encapsulating biopolymeric hydrogel) and stays adsorbed onto the human tongue/palate following ingestion (long-lasting hydration thanks to the efficiently adsorbing proteinaceous microgel). Besides technical development, we have demonstrated up-scaling feasibility and regulatory compliance.Our novel lubricant will overcome the bottleneck of the sub-optimal performance of marketed aqueous lubricants, and will surely contribute to addressing the long-standing swallowing issues faced by elders. This award will allow conducting further proof-of-principle work, including manufacturing a safety compliant medical device, assessing its cost, and building a robust business case.