(580a) Engineering Synthetic Mucus Biomaterials

Mucus is a biological gel that coats and protects epithelial surfaces in tissues throughout the body. Mucus is also enriched with antimicrobial peptides and antibodies against pathogens (e.g. bacteria, viruses) to control infection and prime the immune system. Recently, we have engineered a mucin-based biomaterial with native-like viscoelasticity, here termed ‘synthetic mucus’. To understand mucus dysfunction, we customized synthetic mucus to mimic the biochemical and biophysical features of airway mucus in health and in lung diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis (CF). Using 3D airway tissue culture models, we find the barrier functions of asthma and CF-like synthetic mucus are compromised leading to the worsening of viral and bacterial infections. In addition, the native function of mucus in health makes it an ideal biomaterial for local delivery of biologic drugs to epithelial surfaces. Towards this end, I will discuss our work to design new synthetic mucus based therapeutic strategies that recapitulate the anti-infective and immuno-modulatory capabilities of natural mucus.