Rheology of multicomponent colloidal dispersions: a tracheobronchial mucus mimics study

Mucus plays a key role in airway defense by modulating mucociliary clearance and cough efficiency. This study presents an oscillatory strain-sweep rheological test at angular frequency ω = 1 rad·s⁻¹ conducted on two synthetic mucus samples obtained by the dispersion of Fresubin in water. One sample relates to healthy mucus (S1: 1g/50ml) and the other simulates obstructive diseases (S2: 2.5g/50ml). Storage modulus, loss modulus, linear viscoelastic region (LVR) limits, damping factors, crossover strains and apparent yield stresses have been observed. This study aims to show the mucus mimics’ capability to reproduce small-strain characteristics similar to healthy mucus and pathological viscoelastic brittleness of obstructive diseases. This study also demonstrates the tunability of such dispersions, supporting their use in future experimental setups involving mechanical ventilation in respiratory disease models.