Mucus is a dynamic biological hydrogel, composed primarily of the glycoprotein mucin, exhibits unique biophysical properties and forms a barrier protecting cells against a broad‐spectrum of viruses. Here, this work develops a polyglycerol sulfate‐based dendronized mucin‐inspired copolymer (MICP‐1) with ≈10% repeating units of activated disulfide as cross‐linking sites. Cryo‐electron microscopy (Cryo‐EM) analysis of MICP‐1 reveals an elongated single‐chain fiber morphology. MICP‐1 shows potential inhibitory activity against many viruses such as herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV‐1) and SARS‐CoV‐2 (including variants such as Delta and Omicron). MICP‐1 produces hydrogels with viscoelastic properties similar to healthy human sputum and with tuneable microstructures using linear and branched polyethylene glycol‐thiol (PEG‐thiol) as cross‐linkers. Single particle tracking microrheology, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and cryo‐scanning electron microscopy (Cryo‐SEM) are used to characterize the network structures. The synthesized hydrogels exhibit self‐healing properties, along with viscoelastic properties that are tuneable through reduction. A transwell assay is used to investigate the hydrogel's protective properties against viral infection against HSV‐1. Live‐cell microscopy confirms that these hydrogels can protect underlying cells from infection by trapping the virus, due to both network morphology and anionic multivalent effects. Overall, this novel mucin‐inspired copolymer generates mucus‐mimetic hydrogels on a multi‐gram scale. These hydrogels can be used as models for disulfide‐rich airway mucus research, and as biomaterials.

New functional medical materials with antibacterial activity based on biocompatible bacterial cellulose (BC) and Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were obtained. Bacterial cellulose films were prepared by stationary liquid-phase cultivation of the Gluconacetobacter hansenii strain GH-1/2008 in Hestrin–Schramm medium with glucose as a carbon source. To functionalize the surface and immobilize Ag NPs deposited by magnetron sputtering, BC films were treated with low-pressure oxygen–nitrogen plasma. The composition and structure of the nanomaterials were studied using transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Using electron microscopy, it was shown that on the surface of the fibrils that make up the network of bacterial cellulose, Ag particles are stabilized in the form of aggregates 5–35 nm in size. The XPS C 1s spectra show that after the deposition of Ag NPs, the relative intensities of the C-OH and O-C-O bonds are significantly reduced. This may indicate the destruction of BC oxypyran rings and the oxidation of alcohol groups. In the Ag 3d_5/2 spectrum, two states at 368.4 and 369.7 eV with relative intensities of 0.86 and 0.14 are distinguished, which are assigned to Ag⁰ state and Ag acetate, respectively. Nanocomposites based on plasma-treated BC and Ag nanoparticles deposited by magnetron sputtering (BCP-Ag) exhibited antimicrobial activity against Aspergillus niger, S. aureus and Bacillus subtilis.

The new process for producing silicones, characterized by controllable ratio between linear and cyclic products and based on chlorine-free reagents, is suggested.