Synthetic surfactants to treat neonatal lung disease

Pulmonary surfactant is a complex of surface-active lipids mixed with speci fic proteins. Two of these, SP-B and SP-C, are essential for adsorption of surfactant lipids to the air-liquid interfaces of the lungs and, hence, are also essential for alveolar stability and effective gas exchange. Surfacta nt substitutes must contain at least one of these proteins (or analogues of them) to be optimally effective when administered into the airways of babi es with surfactant deficiency or dysfunction. This review describes how an increased understanding of the properties of surfactant proteins has led to the development of improved synthetic surfactants with the potential to tr eat a wide range of respiratory disorders.