AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
Generating a Pharmaceutical Aerosol with High Charge and Low Device Losses
LANDON HOLBROOK, Worth Longest, Virginia Commonwealth University
Abstract Number: 564 Working Group: Health Related Aerosols
Abstract Three systems are developed and evaluated with the goal of producing highly charged pharmaceutical aerosols with low device losses for improving respiratory drug delivery to the lungs of ventilated infants. These systems are evaluated based on aerosolization rate, particle loss, particle size distribution and charge per particle of an albuterol sulfate solution by filtration or impaction using a validated High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) technique. The new aerosolization systems evaluated are a Wick Electrospray (WES) device, a Condensational Vaporization (CV) device, and a Modified Vibrating Mesh (MVM) device connected to a streamlined induction charger. The WES device is composed of a streamlined airspace that connects a counter electrode and a liquid reservoir containing a shaped wick submerged in a solution at a high voltage. The CV device uses a heated capillary to vaporize a solution that is held at a high voltage. The MVM system is a commercially available AeroNeb Lab nebulizer with a modified driving signal to produce one tenth of the normal aerosol by mass. A charged electrode in the shape of a ring below the vibrating mesh creates a charged aerosol through induction. Each system is tested using a filter to determine the emitted dose and aerosolization rate. Next, the particle size distribution is evaluated using the Mini-Moudi impactor at 2 L/min. Finally, a modified Electrical Low-Pressure Impactor (ELPI) is used to simultaneously determine the particle size distribution and charge on each impactor stage at a flow rate of 30 L/min. In contrast with the other two systems, the MVM device was found to produce a highly charged aerosol with low device loss that is viewed as ideal for targeted aerosol drug delivery to ventilated infants.