%0 Journal Article
%T Polymer Lung Surfactants
%J -
%D 2018
%R https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.8b00061
%X Animal-derived lung surfactants annually save 40ˋ000 infants with neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) in the United States. Lung surfactants have further potential for treating about 190ˋ000 adult patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) each year. To this end, the properties of current therapeutics need to be modified. Although the limitations of current therapeutics have been recognized since the 1990s, there has been little improvement. To address this gap, our laboratory has been exploring a radically different approach in which, instead of lipids, proteins, or peptides, synthetic polymers are used as the active ingredient. This endeavor has led to an identification of a promising polymer-based lung surfactant candidate, poly(styrene-b-ethylene glycol) (PS每PEG) polymer nanomicelles. PS每PEG micelles produce extremely low surface tension under high compression because PS每PEG micelles have a strong affinity to the air每water interface. NMR measurements support that PS每PEG micelles are less hydrated than ordinary polymer micelles. Studies using mouse models of acid aspiration confirm that PS每PEG lung surfactant is safe and efficacious
%U https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsabm.8b00061