[Study on the viscolytic activity of the sputum (author's transl)].
Several mucolytic agents were evaluated on sputum for testing their viscolytic activity and the bacterial tollerance to each of them. Proteolytic enzymes (trypsin, pepsin, papain, pancreatin), KJ, and dithiothreitol (or its derivatives) were better tollerated by common respiratory pathogens (H. influenzae, D. pneumoniae, Klebsiella, etc.) than other mucolytic agents, as acetil-cysteine, cisteamine-HCl, tension active substances, mercaptoethanol, and others. The dithiothreitol showed also one of the strongest viscolytic effect and therefore it was selected for the routinary sputum digestion at the concentration 0.1% in PBS pH 7.2. Such a solution was added to sputum specimen in different proportions according to the macroscopic "apparent" viscosity of each specimen. However researches on the comparative viscolytic activity of all the agents hereinafter considered are still in progress.
[Study on the viscolytic activity of the sputum (author's transl)]. Several mucolytic agents were evaluated on sputum for testing their viscolytic activity and the bacterial tollerance to each of them. Proteolytic enzymes (trypsin, pepsin, papain, pancreatin), KJ, and dithiothreitol (or its derivatives) were better tollerated by common respiratory pathogens (H. influenzae, D. pneumoniae, Klebsiella, etc.) than other mucolytic agents, as acetil-cysteine, cisteamine-HCl, tension active substances, mercaptoethanol, and others. The dithiothreitol showed also one of the strongest viscolytic effect and therefore it was selected for the routinary sputum digestion at the concentration 0.1% in PBS pH 7.2. Such a solution was added to sputum specimen in different proportions according to the macroscopic "apparent" viscosity of each specimen. However researches on the comparative viscolytic activity of all the agents hereinafter considered are still in progress.