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Measurement of the Raman spectra and hygroscopicity of four pharmaceutical aerosols as they travel from pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDI) to a model lung.

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Davidson, N 
Tong, H-J 
Seville, PC 
Ward, AD 

Abstract

Particle inhalation is an effective and rapid delivery method for a variety of pharmaceuticals, particularly bronchodilation drugs used for treating asthma and COPD. Conditions of relative humidity and temperature inside the lungs are generally very different from the outside ambient air, with the lung typically being warmer and more humid. Changes in humidity, from inhaler to lung, can cause hygroscopic phase transitions and particle growth. Increasing particle size and mass can negatively affect particle deposition within the lung leading to inefficient treatment, while deliquescence prior to impaction is liable to accelerate drug uptake. To better understand the hygroscopic properties of four pharmaceutical aerosol particles; pharmaceutical particles from four commercially available pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) were stably captured in an optical trap, and their composition was examined online via Raman spectroscopy. Micron-sized particles of salbutamol sulfate, salmeterol xinafoate, fluticasone propionate and ciclesonide were levitated and examined over a range of relative humidity values inside a chamber designed to mimic conditions within the respiratory tract. The effect of temperature upon hygroscopicity was also investigated for salbutamol sulfate particles. Salbutamol sulfate was found to have significant hygroscopicity, salmeterol xinafoate showed some hygroscopic interactions, whilst fluticasone propionate and ciclesonide revealed no observable hygroscopicity. Thermodynamic and structural modelling is used to explain the observed experimental results.

Description

Keywords

Ciclesonide (PubChem CID: 6918155), Fluticasone propionate (PubChem CID: 444036), Hygroscopicity, Laser tweezers, Optical trapping, Salbutamol sulfate (PubChem CID: 39859), Salmeterol xinafoate (PubChem CID: 56801), Suspended particle, pMDI, Aerosols, Albuterol, Fluticasone, Humidity, Metered Dose Inhalers, Models, Structural, Particle Size, Pregnenediones, Salmeterol Xinafoate, Spectrum Analysis, Raman, Temperature, Wettability

Journal Title

Int J Pharm

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0378-5173
1873-3476

Volume Title

520

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
European Research Council (279405)