Scientific Achievement
A Foundry user has bioengineered peptoids that perform equal to or better than existing lung surfactant replacements.
Significance and Impact
This is the first in vivo demonstration of a peptoid-based lung surfactant reducing the symptoms of acute lung injuries. This discovery will lead to cheaper, better treatments for acute lung injuries.
Research Details
- The researchers created peptoids that have specific sequences and helical structures that mimic key bioactive portions of the two important proteins, surfactant proteins B and C, found in the lungs.
- The peptoids are much less inclined to aggregate into clumps and lose their bioactivity than their natural counterparts, and can be synthesized at one-quarter to one-third the cost of other surfactant replacements.
- A rodent study indicated that a surfactant containing peptoid “pC” was superior to the animal-derived surfactant in oxygenating blood.
