Hannah Trinick

• Biomedical Sciences (Integrated Master’s)
• Understanding mucus: composition, penetrability and behaviour

Mucus is produced in many places in the body such as the eye, the respiratory tract and the gastrointestinal tract. It mainly functions to protect cells and prevent bacterial infection. Using mucus in research can be problematic, as it can be toxic to cell cultures. Commercial suppliers only partially purify their product so it does not mimic reality; hence a sterile purer sample would aid research.

This project investigated the main constituents and properties of mucus in an attempt to further understand the mucus gel. This project attempted to formulate a recipe in which these constituents can be combined to form a mucus-like gel, exhibiting similar characteristics of mucus in the gut, to be used in research. More research is required into this idea.

The knowledge gained will help us to understand how nutrients and drugs are absorbed in the gut and allow drug-delivery systems through mucus to be developed.

Funding source: Newcastle University

 Supervisor: Jeff Pearson