ABSTRACT
I. Introduction 275
II. SP-B Surfactant Peptide Synthesis 277
III. NMR Structure of SP-B Peptides 283
IV. Effect of SP-B Peptides on LS Monolayer Collapse 288
V. Elastic Theory of LS Monolayers 293
A. The Monolayer as an Elastic Sheet 293
B. Mesa Topographies 295
C. Instability 296
References 297
I. Introduction
Lung surfactant (LS), a complex mixture of lipids and proteins, lines the alveoli,
and is responsible for the proper functioning of the lung (1). LS works both by
lowering the surface tension inside the lungs to reduce the work of breathing
and by stabilizing the alveoli through varying the surface tension as a function
of alveolar volume. To accomplish this, the LS mixture must adsorb rapidly to the
air-fluid interface of the alveoli after being secreted. Once at the interface, it
must form a monolayer that can both achieve low surface tensions upon
compression and vary the surface tension as a function of the alveolar radius.
Insufficient levels of surfactant, owing to either immaturity in premature
infants or disease or trauma in adults, can result in respiratory distress syndrome
(RDS), a potentially lethal disease in both populations.
