Therapeutic Aerosol: Thermodynamic Method for Managing the Aerosol Particle Size

Abstract

The inhalation therapy delivers the drugs to the sites and helps to release a respiratory route. The aerosol therapy results highly depend on the depth of drug penetration into the respiratory system, which is primarily determined by the optimal size of the aerosol particles, the farther their penetration is required, the smaller their size should be. In clinical practice, various modes are used to generate the desired particle size. As a result, the drug particles in a certain size are obtained for a more accurate delivery system. However, such different methods for changing the size of drug particles do not provide satisfactory results. Also, the applied pressure in the aerosol technique allows traveling the drug particles at a rapid-uncontrolled speed, causing impaction in the respiratory route. The aerosol is unstable and changes its state under different circumstances, such as the influence of gravity, coagulation, and others. Conventional aerosol nebulizer does not have the privileges, similar to that in the aerosols that used dry powder inhaler or colloidal solutions, which would interfere with the adhesion of particles. In this paper, the authors developed a mathematical approach based on using hot pressurized airflow to control particle size, also determine the speed and the entire time of droplet (drug particles) evaporation. As a result, it can be managed the decreasing of the larger particle sizes and guarantee more deposition of drugs. The proposed method prevents particles from adhering to each other and delivering the best percentage of the drug to the lungs.