From biofilms to birth: Quantitative murburn rationale for hydrated polymer-centred biological transduction, coherence, and evolution of complex life

Authors

Manoj, K. M., Jaeken, L., Tamagawa, H., Burra, V. L. S. P.

Abstract

Hydrated extracellular polymeric phases (such as mucus, biofilms, and extracellular matrices) have traditionally been viewed as passive barriers. We complement and extend this view by analysing these systems through the murburn framework and liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) biophysics. Using quantitative modeling, we first demonstrate how frothy mucus in amphibian egg-masses enhances oxygen delivery while buffering diffusible reactive species (DRS), leading to improved developmental synchrony. We then model the human cervical mucus system, showing its cycle-dependent transitions between coherent barriers (pregnancy), active transduction media (ovulation), and controlled inflammatory remodeling (labor). Finally, we present thiolated polyglycerol sulfate (dPGS-SH) as a synthetic validation (another group's recently published work): this rationally designed mucolytic agent recapitulates native mucus's DRS-modulating properties and shows superior efficacy for addressing cystic fibrosis pathology. With such pan-systemic perspectives, we argue that phase-separated hydrated polymeric matrices represent one of evolution's most conserved solutions for regulating stochastic murburn chemistry, enabling organisms to exploit oxygen while preserving biological coherence. From biofilms to birth, this framework unifies the physicochemical basis of life's most fundamental processes.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 14 Jul 2026.

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