Effects of elastoviscoplastic properties of mucus on airway closure in healthy and pathological conditions
Oguzhan Erken, B. Fazla, Metin Muradoğlu, Daulet Izbassarov, Francesco Romanò, James B. Grotberg
Abstract
Airway closure is a surface-tension-driven phenomenon that occurs when the ratio of the pulmonary liquid layer thickness to the airway radius exceeds a certain threshold. In previous studies, it has been found that airway epithelial cells can be lethally or sub-lethally damaged due to the high peak of the wall stresses and stress gradients during the liquid plug formation. We, in the present study, demonstrate that these stresses are also related to the elastoviscoplastic features of the liquid layer. The airway mucus in healthy, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis (CF) conditions are studied using the Saramito-HB model.