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Atomization and Sprays

Journal of the International Institutes for Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems

ISSN for PRINT: 1045-5110

Institutional price:	$787.00
Issues per year:	8

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2008, Volume18

102 pages

Issue price - $118.00

MASS BALANCE OF NEBULIZED DRUG DELIVERY: RESIDUAL DRUG LEVELS AND THE EFFECTS OF AN ALTERNATIVE AIR HUMIDIFICATION METHOD

Benjamen A. Filas
Department of Engineering, University of Denver, 2390 South York Street, Denver, CO 80208, USA

Corinne S. Lengsfeld
Department of Engineering, University of Denver, 2390 South York Street, Denver, CO 80208, USA

ABSTRACT

Pulmonary drug delivery through the use of in-line nebulizers is a widespread method for delivering therapeutics to mechanically ventilated patients. However, previous studies have shown that often less than 30% of salbutamol sulfate, the generic therapeutic administered to asthmatics, ever reaches the lungs. The purpose of this study was to investigate methods through which nebulized drug delivery could be improved. The first part of these experiments involved testing three brands of nebulizers to determine if substantial differences existed between models. It was found that all three of the nebulizers performed comparably. In these nebulizers, most of the drug was recovered in the nebulizer housings, indicating that most of the therapeutic never escaped the device. When humidity was applied to the driving airflow prior to the air reaching the nebulizer in an effort to reduce evaporation effects, it was found that residual salbutamol sulfate levels in the nebulizer decreased by nearly half.