Institute for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustraße 3, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
J Am Chem Soc. 2022 Nov 9;144(44):20137-20152. doi: 10.1021/jacs.1c13547. Epub 2022 Sep 8.
Mucus hydrogels at biointerfaces are crucial for protecting against foreign pathogens and for the biological functions of the underlying cells. Since mucus can bind to and host both viruses and bacteria, establishing a synthetic model system that can emulate the properties and functions of native mucus and can be synthesized at large scale would revolutionize the mucus-related research that is essential for understanding the pathways of many infectious diseases. The synthesis of such biofunctional hydrogels in the laboratory is highly challenging, owing to their complex chemical compositions and the specific chemical interactions that occur throughout the gel network. In this perspective, we discuss the basic chemical structures and diverse physicochemical interactions responsible for the unique properties and functions of mucus hydrogels. We scrutinize the different approaches for preparing mucus-inspired hydrogels, with specific examples. We also discuss recent research and what it reveals about the challenges that must be addressed and the opportunities to be considered to achieve desirable synthetic mucus hydrogels.
生物界面处的黏液水凝胶对于防止外来病原体侵害和底层细胞的生物学功能至关重要。由于黏液既能结合病毒又能容纳细菌，因此建立一个能够模拟天然黏液特性和功能的合成模型系统，并能大规模合成，将彻底改变对理解许多传染病途径至关重要的黏液相关研究。由于其复杂的化学成分和整个凝胶网络中发生的特定化学相互作用，在实验室中合成这种生物功能水凝胶极具挑战性。在这篇观点文章中，我们讨论了负责黏液水凝胶独特性质和功能的基本化学结构和多种物理化学相互作用。我们仔细研究了不同的制备受黏液启发的水凝胶的方法，并提供了具体的例子。我们还讨论了最近的研究及其揭示的挑战，以及为实现理想的合成黏液水凝胶而需要考虑的机会。
