Fiegel and her team examined how exhaled bioaerosols - droplets produced from the lung during breathing, coughing, and sneezing - are produced from lung-like surfaces during a cough. The findings were recently published in Soft Matter in a paper titled, “Surface rheological properties alter aerosol formation from mucus mimetic surfaces.”

University of Iowa scholars in engineering and pharmacy are designing polymers to help maintain the effectiveness of drugs once they enter the lungs of patients dealing with infections, cancer, genetic disorders or other conditions.