Dry mouth (xerostomia) is commonly managed with therapies that offer only temporary relief or involve invasive procedures. To address this gap, researchers have developed a novel saliva gel using the biocompatible polymer poly (hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA). The gel is designed to mimic natural saliva secretion and provide a noninvasive option for sustained symptom relief. In laboratory tests, the PHEMA-based saliva gel demonstrated a swelling capacity of nearly 400% of its original volume within six hours, enabling it to absorb and retain large amounts of artificial saliva .
Once optimized, the gel released nearly all its stored saliva within four hours at body temperature with 97% efficiency, a performance that remained stable across five consecutive use cycles. The gel also showed reusable absorbance properties during these cycles. These results indicate that the saliva gel can…
