A multi-mode nonlinear constitutive model for mucus is constructed directly from micro- and macro-rheology experimental data on cell culture mucus, and a numerical algorithm is developed for the culture geometry and idealized cilia driving conditions. This study investigates the roles that mucus rheology, wall effects, and HBE culture geometry play in the development of flow profiles and the sh...

BARRIER PROPERTIES OF MUCUS Hasan M. Yildiz, Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University Mucus, a complex network consisting of microand nano-scale fluid-filled domains formed via mucin glycoprotein interactions, provides a barrier through which nutrients and orally delivered drugs must penetrate before entering the circulatory system. Mucus provides a significant, yet poorly characterized ba...

The protective and lubricative r6le of mucus in the gastro-intestinal tract has been reported and studied by many investigators (Claude Bernard (4), Schiff (18), de Klug (12), Whitlow (19), Elliott (7), Pavlov (16), Berg and Jobling (3), Leriche (14), and Bucher (6)). An absolute or relative deficiency of gastric mucus has been frequently suggested as a possible etiologic factor in gastro-duode...

The significance of mucus trails derived from the herbivorous gastropods Patella caerulea, Monodonta turbinata and Tegula sp. in enhancing microbial activity in marine rocky intertidal and sublittoral zones was investigated by means of microcosm and field experiments. A pronounced increase of bacterial abundance concurrently with extracellular glucosidase activity (alpha-Dand betaD-glucosidase)...

BACKGROUND Patients with gastroduodenal disease produce gastric mucus of higher viscosity, and mucins that are of a smaller size, than normal. We have modelled these changes to the mucus layer in solutions of methylcellulose, and measured bacterial motility in biopsied mucus, to assess how they might influence the movements of Helicobacter pylori. METHODS Motilities of Helicobacter pylori wer...

Recombinant human deoxyribonuclease (rhDNase) has been demonstrated to reduce in vitro the viscosity and to improve the transport capacity of purulent respiratory mucus in cystic fibrosis. During episodes of exacerbation of chronic bronchitis, the patients generally expectorate purulent mucus. Purulence of mucus is associated with an increased deoxyriboneucleic acid (DNA) concentration. We anal...

Mucus is an integral part of the tear film with functions including the anchoring of the aqueous components and stabilising their contact with the cornea by rendering structural support to the microplicae, having potential involvement in apoptotic and cell mediating activity as well as combatting pathogens and foreign bodies.1 Ocular mucus helps maintain the wettability of the ocular surface an...

Research into naturally occurring antimicrobial substances has yielded effective treatments. One area of interest is peptides and proteins produced by invertebrates as part of their defence system, including the contents of mollusc mucus. Mucus produced by the African giant land snail, Achatina fulica has been reported to contain two proteins with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. Mucus fr...

Adhesion of 3H-labeled Escherichia coli K-12(K88ab) to CD-1 mouse small intestine mucus and brush border preparations, immobilized on polystyrene, was studied. E. coli K12(K88ab) was shown to adhere readily to either crude mucus or brush border preparations, but not to bovine serum albumin. In contrast, the nearly isogenic E. coli K-12 strain, i.e., lacking the K88ab plasmid, did not bind well ...

Current methods for nasal spray formulations have been elementary evaluating the dripping characteristics of a formulation and have not assessed the behavior of the nasal formulation in the presence of varying types of mucus depending on the indication or diseased state. This research investigated the effects of nasal mucus on the dripping behavior of nasal formulations and focused on developin...