The rheological properties of sputum

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Davis, S.S.^{; *} | Dippy, J.E.

Affiliations: The Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, University of London, Brunswick Square, London, W.C 1.

Correspondence: [*] Present address Department Analytical Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmaceutics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.A., to whom all correspondence should be addressed.

Abstract: Mucoid sputum has been examined by three different rheological techniques, continuous shear, creep and oscillation. Continuous shear experiments using a Ferranti–Shirley cone and plate viscometer, are limited in their application by the viscoelastic nature of the material. In creep sputum can be represented by a simple four element mechanical model in which the moduli of rigidity and viscosities are appreciable (50–100 dyn cm−2 and 0.7–2.4 × 104 Poise respectively). Oscillation experiments over the frequency range 8 × 10−2–10 Hz, support the view that the structure of sputum is due to the entanglement of mucoprotein chains.

DOI: 10.3233/BIR-1969-6102

Journal: Biorheology, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 11-21, 1969