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Design of an Electrical Gelation Chamber to Synthesize Alginate Microparticles for Inhalational Delivery of Anti-tubercular Drug
CHETHANI ATHUKORALA, Hema Ravindran, Shantanu Sur, Suresh Dhaniyala, Clarkson University
Abstract Number: 459
Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract
Inhalational delivery of antitubercular drugs using polymeric carrier particles is emerging as an attractive therapeutic option for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). For such approach to be successful, the size of the particles needs to be optimized for their delivery to the lung alveoli and enhanced uptake by macrophages, where TB bacteria reside. Previous reports suggest nebulized particles in the size range of 500-700 nm are most effective in reaching the alveolar region. The objective of the present work is to synthesize alginate microspheres within a narrow size range and relevant for pulmonary drug delivery application using a custom-designed electrical gelation chamber. Aerosols of alginate were first generated by atomization, which were collected in a chamber under electrostatic precipitation, and cross-linked to gel by exposure to CaCl2 solution. The chamber was designed to collect alginate aerosols of <1 µm in size under an electric field of 5 kV/cm. Flow behavior and collection of alginate aerosols in the chamber was estimated by CFD simulations and its design was optimized for improved collection efficiency. The collection efficiency of the gelation chamber was examined as a function of the electric field and ionization of alginate aerosols. We achieved a collection efficiency of >90 % for aerosol of size <1 µm as estimated by APS measurements. Collected particles were further characterized by microscopy and dynamic light scattering experiments. We will present the design and performance details of the gelation chamber from our ongoing work.