A Study of the Air-Water Interfacial Behavior of Biodegradable Polyesters: Toward Rational Design of a Polymeric Lung Surfactant

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

Deficiency of lung surfactant causes a disease called respiratory distress syndrome. The standard treatment of this disease involves an injection of animal-extracted, lipid-based surfactant formulation into the patient?s lung. However, the treatment if very expensive and there has been a long-standing search for a more viable (synthetic) formulation. This proposal will probe (using optical micro-viscosimetry and micro-rheology techniques) the molecular origins of the minimum surface tension exhibited by promising biodegradable polyesters (PLGA) , the surface pressure-area hysteresis behavior in dynamically compressed films, and the viscoelastic properties of PLGA monolayers. If successful, the results of this proposed research can have an important impact on the field of materials engineering, expanding our fundamental understanding of materials properties and dynamics of thin film polymers.