What is the role of natural surfactants in the human body in breathing?

Introduction:

‘Surfactants are the most versatile products of the chemical

industry.They are utilised in every industrial area ranging from
household detergents to drilling muds and food items to
pharmaceuticals and even reside within living bodies’ (Laurén,
2018). Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface
tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or
between a liquid and a solid.

Surfactants, otherwise known as surface active agents are

molecules derived from fats that have both polar and nonpolar
qualities. Most surfactant molecules have a polar head and a
long carbon chain for a tail. These molecules can bring
together substances that would otherwise be polar opposites.

Image Source: ResearchGate Chemical structure of an anionic surfactant, sodium stearate

Natural Surfactants
Surfactants are amphiphilic molecules containing both hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts.
● Hydrophobic tail is composed of a hydrocarbon, fluorocarbon, or siloxane & poorly
soluble in water or polar solvents.
● Hydrophilic head group, polar in nature and readily dissolve in water or polar solvents.

There are 4 types of surfactants based upon the

composition of the polarity of the head group:

● No charge : Non ionic

● Negative : Anionic
● Positive : Cationic
● Both positive & negative : Amphoteric or
Zwitterionic.

Due to their amphiphilic nature, surfactants absorb at the air-water or

oil-water interface. Surfactants position themselves at the interface to
ensure that the hydrophobic part is in the air (or oil) and the hydrophilic
part is in the water (Laurén, 2018). An everyday instant this can be
observed is when soap or surfactant molecules, but this time the nonpolar
tails of our soap molecules and the nonpolar oil molecules are brought
together, capturing the oil through micelle formation, which can now be
washed away easily, demonstrated in figure 1.
Surface Tension
Surface tension is the property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an
external force, due to the cohesive nature of its molecules, in this case it is the air water
interaction (refer to figure 2), (Nakama, 2017). As
surfactants reduce interaction between water molecules,
they reduce surface tension.

What are the different types of surfactants found in the human body?

Types of Surfactants in the human body

Surfactants are either naturally occurring or made by simple modifications of natural
compounds. The human body contains many surfactants, some of which are produced in the
lung. The best known are the phospholipids that make up the cell membrane. These are
essentially low water solubility anionic surfactants. Surfactrants contain four associated proteins,
surfactant protein (SP)-A, SP-B, SP-C, and SP-D. Two of these proteins, SP-A and SP-D, are
hydrophilic, and the others are hydrophobic SP-A and SP-D are members of a family of innate
immune proteins, termed collectins.

What is the role of natural surfactants in the human body in breathing?

Surface Tension in the Lung
The three primary functions of surfactants in the respiratory system include increasing the
compliance of lungs, preventing fluid accumulation in the alveoli and stabilising the size of the
alveoli. The alveoli are the functional units inside the lung, and inside these alveoli is a fluid
lining.

Water is a polar molecule with its oxygen atom being more negatively charged than the
two covalently-bonded hydrogen atoms. When surrounded by other water molecules, the
negatively charged regions attract the positively charged ones. The behaviour of the water
molecules in a deeper layer differs from water molecules on a surface. The deeper water
molecule is attracted in all directions with other water molecules whereas,on the surface they
are not attracted in all directions due to the liquid air interface. Consequently, the water
molecules on a surface are pulled by the innermost molecules inward that causes the surface to
shrink, making the water layer thinner and the surface area to reduce, whilst simultaneously
developing surface tension. As the water molecules contract, air leaves during expiration so it is
getting smaller and the surface tension can make these alveoli collapse. Surface tension acts
in parallel with lung tissue elasticity to tend to collapse the lungs. Pulmonary surfactant
ensures that the alveoli doesn’t collapse.

The three primary functions of surfactants in the respiratory system include increasing the
compliance of lungs, preventing fluid accumulation in the alveoli and stabilising the size of the
alveoli. The alveoli are the functional units inside the lung, and inside these alveoli is a fluid
lining.

Water is a polar molecule with its oxygen atom being more negatively charged than the two
covalently-bonded hydrogen atoms. When surrounded by other water molecules, the negatively
charged regions attract the positively charged ones (Rye et al., 2016). The behaviour of the
water molecules in a deeper layer differs from water molecules on a surface. The deeper water
molecule is attracted in all directions with other water molecules whereas, on the surface they
are not attracted in all directions due to the liquid air interface as shown in figure 5.
Consequently, the water molecules on a surface are pulled by the innermost molecules inward
that causes the surface to shrink, making the water layer thinner and the surface area to reduce,
whilst simultaneously developing surface tension (Libretexts, 2020). As the water molecules
contract, air leaves during expiration so it is getting smaller and the surface tension can make
these alveoli collapse. Surface tension acts in parallel with lung tissue elasticity to tend to
collapse the lungs. Pulmonary surfactant ensures that the alveoli doesn’t collapse (D. Seadler,
2022).
Pulmonary Surfactant
Humans possess a mechanism to lower the surface tension of water within alveoli and
the distal airways(D. Seadler et al., 2022). Specifically, type II pneumocytes ( alveolar
epithelial cells) secrete a surfactant that helps decrease surface tension (D. Seadler et al.,
2022). Its production starts later in gestation around 24 weeks and its main components are
phospholipids particularly dipole phosphatidylcholine. The lipid component has:
● two fatty acid tails with approx 16 carbons and links (dipalmitoyl fatty acid group).
● a polar head group, in particular a phosphatidyl group with cholione groups
connected to it (referred as Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine group ( L.M. Creuwels,
L. M. G. van Golde, and H. P. Haagsman, 1996)

The proteins found in surfactants play a diverse range of roles, and are beyond the
discussion of this poster, further information can be found through personal research.

A phospholipid has two hydrophobic tails and one hydrophilic head. The hydrophilic head of an
amphipathic molecule forms temporary bonds with the charged regions of nearby neighbouring
water molecules when it mixes with water. The hydrophobic tails are pushed towards one
another because they are unable to create these bonds with the water. As a result, surfactant
molecules form a sphere with the "heads" on the outside facing water molecules and their "tails"
on the inside facing each other. Thus the surfactant interrupts the temporary interactions of
water molecules with each other by creating a separation between them, thereby
lowering the surface tension. Surfactants prevent small alveoli from collapsing during
expiration by facing the fluid when they line up along the interface. This can be described
as the compliance of the lungs increasing and it also decreases work of breathing.
Surfactants prevent fluid accumulation in the alveoli, when high surface tension without
surfactants normally tends to collapse with the liquid in the alveoli. As it collapses, it draws fluid
from interstitium into the alveoli. This increases the thickness of the liquid layer and makes it
difficult for gases to diffuse. And again surfactants by decreasing surface tension, prevent this
from happening.

Surfactants also stabilise the size of the alveoli. In absence of surfactants small alveoli
collapses into large alveoli. According to Laplace’s Law, at a constant surface tension, small
alveoli will generate bigger pressures within them than will large alveoli. Smaller alveoli would
therefore be expected to empty into larger alveoli as lung volume decreases. This does not
occur, however, because surfactant differentially reduces surface tension, more at lower
volumes and less at higher volumes, leading to alveolar stability and reducing the likelihood of
alveolar collapse.
Humans possess a mechanism to lower the surface tension of water within alveoli and the distal
airways (D. Seadler et al, 2022). Specifically, type II pneumocytes ( alveolar epithelial cells)
secrete a surfactant that helps decrease surface tension (D. Seadler et al, 2022). Its production
starts later in gestation around 24 weeks and its main components are phospholipids
particularly dipole phosphatidylcholine, this is represented in Figure 6 and 7. The lipid
component has:

● Two fatty acid tails with approximately 16 carbons and links (dipalmitoyl fatty acid group).
This can be seen in figure 4.
● A polar head group, in particular a phosphatidyl group with choline groups connected to
it (referred as Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine group ( L.M. Creuwels, L. M. G. van Golde,
and H. P. Haagsman, 1996)

The proteins found in surfactants play a diverse range of roles, and are beyond the discussion
of this poster, further information can be found through personal research.

A phospholipid contains one hydrophilic head and two hydrophobic tails (refer to figure 4). When
an amphipathic molecule mixes with water, the hydrophilic head forms temporary bonds with the
charged areas of neighbouring water molecules. The hydrophobic tails do not form these bonds
with water and get pushed towards each other. The result is a sphere of surfactant molecules
with the "heads" on the outside, facing water molecules, and the "tails" on the inside facing each
other. Thus the surfactant interrupts the temporary interactions of water molecules with each
other by creating a separation between them, thereby lowering the surface tension. Surfactants
prevent small alveoli from collapsing during expiration by facing the fluid when they line up
along the interface. This can be described as the compliance of the lungs increasing and it also
decreases work of breathing.

Surfactants prevent fluid accumulation in the alveoli, when high surface tension without
surfactants normally tends to collapse with the liquid in the alveoli (Doctorlib, 2019). As it
collapses, it draws fluid from interstitium into the alveoli as portrayed in figure 10. This increases
the thickness of the liquid layer and makes it difficult for gases to diffuse. Once again surfactants
decrease surface tension, preventing this from happening.

Surfactants also stabilise the size of the alveoli. In absence of surfactants small alveoli
collapses into large alveoli (Libretexts, 2020). According to Laplace’s Law, at a constant surface
tension, small alveoli will generate bigger pressures within them than will large alveoli (D.
Seadler et al., 2022). Smaller alveoli would therefore be expected to empty into larger alveoli as
lung volume decreases. This does not occur, however, because surfactant differentially reduces
surface tension, more at lower volumes and less at higher volumes, leading to alveolar stability
and reducing the likelihood of alveolar collapse, this is displayed in Figure 11.
One social, ethical, economic,environmental and/or ethical factor relevant to the research
question.

Environment

Surfactants promote the decomposition/removal of other inorganic and organic pollutants found
from the environment, but it can be detrimental to the natural environment, especially due to
their aquatic toxicity. This is evidenced as even very low concentrations of surfactants in surface
water can be highly toxic to all forms of aquatic life. There are also chances that surfactants can
penetrate drinking water thereby posing a health risk to human, animal, and aquatic lives.
(Ivanković T, 2010).

Ethical
Consequently, a major environmental consideration in the introduction of any new surfactant
molecule is determining whether it is sufficiently biodegradable to lose its surface activity before
being emitted from municipal or industrial waste treatment plants (Bautista-Toledo et al. 2014).
The immense usage of surfactants, their health hazards, call for their control in the environment
with strict regulatory policies on their allowable limit.

Economic

The global market size of surfactants is estimated at about 42.1 billion US dollars, and it is
projected to reach $52.4bn by 2025. This conservative estimate would likely be exceeded with
the global increase in production and use of hand sanitizers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Costs are inexpensive in terms of surfactant treatments for premature babies who are born
before 35 weeks as they lack sufficient number of surfactants (Infant respiratory distress
syndrome).

I chose this topic because whilst researching I came to know that surfactants have many uses in
everyday life however I wasn't aware that there were natural surfactants within the human body
that assists with respiration and other bodily functions, hence I chose this topic to learn more
about how natural surfactants are utilised in the human body.