Structural models and surface equation of state for pulmonary surfactant monolayers Original Research Article

A simple surface equation of state is proposed to describe π-A isotherms of pulmonary surfactant monolayers. The monolayer is considered as undergoing three characteristic states during the compression: the disordered liquid-expanded (LE) state, the ordered liquid-condensed (LC) state and the collapse state. Structural models of pure protein (SP-B and SP-C) monolayer are proposed to interpret the behavior characteristics of monolayer in the states. The area, ALC, is defined as an instantaneous LC-state area when the monolayer is under the complete LC state. The area, At, is defined as a transition area from the ordered LC state to the collapse state. And the collapse pressure, πmax, is defined as the maximum surface pressure that the monolayer can bear before collapse. The ideal equation of state is revised by ALC, At and πmax, and a new equation of state is obtained, which is applicable for pure components of pulmonary surfactant. The theoretical π-A isotherms described by the equation of state are compared with the experimental ones for SP-B, SP-C, DPPC and DPPG, and good agreements are obtained. The equation of state is generalized to protein–lipid binary mixtures by introducing mixing rules. The predicted π-A isotherms agree with the experimental ones for various pulmonary surfactant components and the average deviation is about 9.2%.