Experimental study of aerosol deposition in a realistic lung model

Abstract

The inhalation route for administration of medicaments is becoming more and more popular in recent years. The reason is non-invasiveness of the method and instantaneous absorption of drugs to the blood circulation. It is necessary to deliver exact amount of drug to the specific segment because of occurrence of diverse diseases in different segments of lungs. The aim of our work is to contribute to better understanding of transport and deposition of aerosolized drugs in lungs and hence to more effective treatment of respiratory diseases due to the targeted drug delivery. We provided measurements of aerosol deposition in segmented realistic model of lungs without a mouth cavity. Monodisperse particles marked with fluorescein were supplied to the model. The model was then disassembled to segments and each segment was rinsed with isopropanol, whereby fluorescent samples were created. Each sample was analysed by fluorometer and an amount of aerosol deposited in the segment was calculated. Experiences obtained by this study were used for creation of a new model with the mouth cavity. This model will be used for future studies with porous and fiber aerosols.