For long-term mechanical ventilation, during anesthesia
or intensive
care, it is crucial to preserve a minimum level of humidity to avoid
damage to the respiratory epithelium. Heat and moisture exchange filters
(HME), also called “artificial noses,” are passive systems
that contribute to delivering inspired gases at about the same conditions
of healthy respiration, i.e., 32 °C and relative humidity higher
than 90%. Current HME devices suffer from limitations linked either
to performance and filtration efficiency to their inadequate antibacterial
efficiency, sterilization methods, and durability. Furthermore, in
times of global warming and diminishing petroleum oil reserves, replacing
the employing of synthetic materials with biomass biodegradable raw
materials has considerable economic and environmental value. In the
present study, a generation of eco-sustainable, bioinspired, and biodegradable
HME devices are designed and developed through a green-chemistry process
based on raw materials deriving from food waste and taking inspiration
from the functioning, structure, and chemistry of our respiratory
system. In particular, different blends are obtained by mixing aqueous
solutions of gelatin and chitosan in various polymer ratios and concentrations
and then by cross-linking them with different low amounts of genipin,
a natural chemical cross-linker. Finally, the blends, post-gelation,
are freeze-dried to obtain three-dimensional (3D) highly porous aerogels
reproducing both the highly exposed surface area of the upper respiratory
ways and the chemical composition of the mucus secretion covering
the nasal mucosae. Results are comparable with accepted standards
for HME devices and suitable bacteriostatic potential, thus validating
these bioinspired materials as promising candidates to be used as
an eco-sustainable generation of HME devices.