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    An Investigation into the Powder Release Behavior from Capsule-Based Dry Powder Inhalers
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    Abstract:
    A methodology for studying the deagglomeration performance and emptying behavior of micronized mannitol powder from two commercial capsule-based dry powder inhalers (DPIs), the low- and high-resistance RS01®, is presented. Mathematical modeling played a key role in the interpretation of the powder release behavior from these two DPI systems. Non-linear regression models, which were characterized from the aerosol obscuration versus time profiles obtained from laser diffraction particle sizing data, were used to estimate rate constants for emptying of mannitol powder. The effects of device resistance and associated pressure drops, sampling flow rate, rates of powder emptying, and the presence of capsule on the dispersion characteristics were studied. The presence of a capsule significantly improved the aerosolization performance of mannitol powder from both inhalers, which may be due to the extended powder–air–device interactions within the device. It is important to consider the stochastic nature of movement and physical state of the capsule when assessing the aerosolization mechanisms and dispersion performance from these complex delivery systems. The methodology set out in this study has the capacity to provide a greater level of detail in the study of aerosol plume characteristics from capsule-based DPIs.Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research
    Keywords:
    Aerosolization
    Capsule
    Nanoparticle aerosols released from nanopowders in workplaces are associated with human exposure and health risks. We developed a novel system, requiring minimal amounts of test materials (min. 200 mg), for studying powder aerosolization behavior and aerosol properties. The aerosolization procedure follows the concept of the fluidized-bed process, but occurs in the modified volume of a V-shaped aerosol generator. The airborne particle number concentration is adjustable by controlling the air flow rate. The system supplied stable aerosol generation rates and particle size distributions over long periods (0.5-2 hr and possibly longer), which are important, for example, to study aerosol behavior, but also for toxicological studies. Strict adherence to the operating procedures during the aerosolization experiments ensures the generation of reproducible test results. The critical steps in the standard protocol are the preparation of the material and setup, and the aerosolization operations themselves. The system can be used for experiments requiring stable aerosol concentrations and may also be an alternative method for testing dustiness. The controlled aerosolization made possible with this setup occurs using energy inputs (may be characterized by aerosolization air velocity) that are within the ranges commonly found in occupational environments where nanomaterial powders are handled. This setup and its operating protocol are thus helpful for human exposure and risk assessment.
    Aerosolization
    Particle (ecology)
    Citations (2)
    Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is an intracellular pathogen that forms aggregates (clumps) on solid agar plates and in liquid media. Detergents such as Tween 80/Tyloxapol are considered the gold standard to disrupt clump formation in Mtb cultures. The presence of detergent, however, may generate foam and hinder Mtb aerosolization thus requiring addition of an antifoam agent for optimal Mtb aerosol-based procedures. Aerosol inhalation can be technically challenging, in particular to achieve a reproducible inhaled target dose. In this study, the impact of an antifoam, the silicon antifoaming agent (SAF), on Mtb aerosolization and whole-body mouse aerosol infection was investigated. A comparative study using SAF in a liquid suspension containing Mycobacterium bovis BCG ( M . bovis BCG) or Mtb H37Rv did not cause any adverse effect on bacterial viability. Incorporation of SAF during mycobacteria inhalation procedures revealed that aerosolized mycobacterial strains were maintained under controlled environmental conditions such as humidity, temperature, pressure, and airflow inside the aerosol chamber. In addition, environmental factors and spray factors were not affected by the presence of SAF in mycobacterial cultures during aerosolization. Spray factor was significantly less during aerosol procedures with a low-input dose of mycobacteria in comparison to high-dose, as predicted. The mycobacterial load recovered in the biosampler (AGI) was ~2–3 logs lower than nebulizer or input bacterial load. A consistent Mtb bacillary load determined in mouse lungs indicates that SAF does not affect mycobacteria aerosolization during the aerosol generation process. These data confirmed that 1) SAF prevents formation of excessive foam during aerosolization, 2) SAF had no negative impact on mycobacterial viability within aerosol droplets, 3) Mtb droplets within aerosol-generated particles are well within the range required for reaching and depositing deep into lung tissue, and 4) SAF had no negative impact on achieving a target dose in mice exposed to Mtb aerosol.
    Aerosolization
    Nebulizer
    This study aimed to provide data on the survival and site of damage of Escherichia coli cells following aerosolization using two different techniques, nebulization and flow focusing. Four metabolic stains were assessed for their ability to detect respiratory activities and membrane homeostasis in aerosolized E. coli cells. The degree of sublethal injury increased significantly over the 10-min period of aerosolization in E. coli cells aerosolized by using the Collison nebulizer, reaching up to 99.9% of the population. In contrast, a significantly lower proportion of the population was sublethally damaged during aerosolization using the flow-focusing aerosol generator (FFAG). Concomitantly, loss of membrane homeostasis increased at a higher rate in nebulized cells (68 to 71%) than in those aerosolized by using the FFAG (32 to 34%). The activities of respiratory enzymes decreased at increased rates in nebulized cells (27 to 37%) compared to the rates of decrease in cells aerosolized by using the FFAG (59 to 61%). The results indicate that the physiology of an aerosolized bacterium is linked to the method of aerosol generation and may affect the interpretation of a range of aerobiological phenomenon.
    Aerosolization
    Nebulizer
    Citations (50)
    Patients with COVID-19 with severe respiratory disease may require non-invasive ventilation (NIV) devices, and selection should consider the greatest ability to reduce coronavirus-sized particles aerosolization. The objective of this study was to characterize the aerosolization of coronavirus-sized particles using different oxygen delivery systems.
    Aerosolization
    Filtration (mathematics)
    Respirator
    2019-20 coronavirus outbreak
    Coronavirus
    Particle (ecology)
    Nebulizer
    Nanoparticle aerosols released from nanopowders in workplaces are associated with human exposure and health risks. We developed a novel system, requiring minimal amounts of test materials (min. 200 mg), for studying powder aerosolization behavior and aerosol properties. The aerosolization procedure follows the concept of the fluidized-bed process, but occurs in the modified volume of a V-shaped aerosol generator. The airborne particle number concentration is adjustable by controlling the air flow rate. The system supplied stable aerosol generation rates and particle size distributions over long periods (0.5-2 hr and possibly longer), which are important, for example, to study aerosol behavior, but also for toxicological studies. Strict adherence to the operating procedures during the aerosolization experiments ensures the generation of reproducible test results. The critical steps in the standard protocol are the preparation of the material and setup, and the aerosolization operations themselves. The system can be used for experiments requiring stable aerosol concentrations and may also be an alternative method for testing dustiness. The controlled aerosolization made possible with this setup occurs using energy inputs (may be characterized by aerosolization air velocity) that are within the ranges commonly found in occupational environments where nanomaterial powders are handled. This setup and its operating protocol are thus helpful for human exposure and risk assessment.
    Aerosolization
    Particle (ecology)
    Citations (4)
    Little is known about how bacteria are aerosolized in terms of whether some bacteria will be found in the air more readily than others that are present in the source. This report describes in vitro experiments to compare aerosolization rates (also known as preferential aerosolization) of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as rod- and coccus-shaped bacteria, using two nebulization conditions.A consortium of five bacterial species was aerosolized in a homemade chamber. Aerosols generated with a commercial nebulizer and a homemade bubble-burst aerosol generator were compared. Data suggest that Pseudomonas aeruginosa was preferentially aerosolized in comparison to Moraxella catarrhalis, Lactobacillus paracasei, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus suis, independently of the method of aerosolization. Bacterial integrity of Strep. suis was more preserved compared to other bacteria studied as revealed with PMA-qPCR.We reported the design of an aerosol chamber and bubble-burst generator for the in vitro study of preferential aerosolization. In our setting, preferential aerosolization was influenced by bacterial properties instead of aerosolization mechanism.These findings could have important implications for predicting the composition of bioaerosols in various locations such as wastewater treatment plants, agricultural settings and health care settings.
    Aerosolization
    Indoor bioaerosol
    Legionella
    Nebulizer
    Citations (25)
    In this study, a monoethanolamine aerosol growth model was developed to investigate the aerosol growth factor. Interactions among the internal conditions in an absorber were considered in this aerosol model. Additionally, an experiment was conducted to measure aerosol particle size, for collecting in-house validation data. Sucrose was used as the aerosol nuclei instead of sulfuric acid to prevent the corrosion of equipment used in the experiment. Experimental results showed that the outlet aerosol sizes increased to the same size regardless of the sucrose concentrations. The aerosol growth model was validated using the in-house experimental data. The aerosol growth model efficiently predicted the aerosol size. For investigating aerosol growth effects, particle number concentration was determined to be the primary factor affecting aerosol growth and amine emissions. When the particle number concentration increased, the aerosol size decreased, whereas the MEA emission increased.
    Particle (ecology)
    Bacteria, viruses, fungus, and other biological components (toxins, membranes, spores) can spread in the air through various aerosolization processes (breathing, bubbling, explosion, evaporation) and travel until they reach a surface or a host. Nosocomial diseases are an example of illnesses caused by a human contact with such pathogen vectors in hospital settings. Very little is known about the aerosolization processes of viruses and bacteria and their potential to infect people after their passage in the airborne state and about the microbial burden carried by individual aerosol particles. Here we propose a novel approach to study the aerosolization mechanisms of bacteria in single particles using fluorescence spectroscopy and a homemade system allowing the control of the aerosolization and the impaction of bacteria on a black filter. We validated the concept using P. fluorescence and E. coli. The results show that independently of the amount of P. fluorescens and E. coli aerosolized the average distribution of cells impacted on a black filter is described by a Poisson fit with λ ∼ 0.6 ± 0.2. This means that using this aerosolization process, an aerosol will present no bacterium, but when it does, the number of bacteria per particle in the distributions will more probably be one. We also observed that the aerosolization processes of these two bacterial species allow P. fluorescens to be preferentially aerosolized against E. coli. These results demonstrate that fluorescence spectroscopy is a powerful tool to study bioaerosols in single particles. This technique can be used to study several phenomena like preferential aerosolization.Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research
    Aerosolization
    Indoor bioaerosol
    Bioaerosol