Effects of Dehydration-Rehydration on the Structural and Functional Properties of Pulmonary Surfactant

Abstract

Pulmonary surfactant is a lipoproteic complex, which main function is to stabilize the respiratory air-liquid interface. Lack or inactivation of surfactant is associated with severe pathologies such as the neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) or Acute RDS in adults. Treatment of babies suffering or at risk of NRDS consists in an intratraqueal application of a dense aqueous suspension of exogenous surfactant. Widespread application of exogenous surfactant therapies in adults is still under development, in part due to limited availability of clinical surfactant and because it is an invasive therapy which requires the intubation of the patient. The fact that surfactant must be stored at 4°C to preserve its functional properties, causes some difficulties during transport and storage, mainly in developing countries where these therapies are strongly needed to treat premature newborns. In this context, lyophilisation is contemplated as a way to keep surfactant properties. This work assesses the effect of lyophilization and later reconstitution on the interfacial properties of the lateral structure of porcine native lung surfactant films.