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Does the United States Pharmacopeia Throat Introduce De-agglomeration of Carrier-Free Powder from Inhalers?

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Abstract

Purpose

We hypothesize that the USP induction port may de-agglomerate carrier-free powder emitting from dry powder inhalers (DPIs).

Methods

Aerosols emitting from a range of DPIs (Spinhaler®, Turbuhaler® and OsmohalerTM) and induction ports (USP throat, straight tube, Alberta idealized mouth-throat geometry (AG)) were sized by laser diffraction. Total drug recovery was obtained by HPLC and fine particle fraction computed. Air flow patterns were simulated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

Results

The straight tube did not de-agglomerate emitted powder. However, the USP throat and AG further de-agglomerated powders from the Spinhaler, but not the Turbuhaler and Osmohaler. While budesonide powder deposited similarly in all induction ports, deposition was significantly higher in the AG for both DSCG and mannitol. CFD revealed agglomerates impacting on the USP throat with higher localized velocity compared with the straight tube. CFD further showed a more complex flow pattern with high-velocity air jets in the AG, which explains the higher FPF for DSCG and the lower FPF for mannitol using the AG.

Conclusion

The USP throat further de-agglomerated the emitted powder from the DPI when it did not sufficiently disperse the powder. Other tools such as laser diffraction may be used for cross-examining to avoid artifacts in the results.

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Acknowledgments & DISCLOSURES

This work was funded by a grant from the Australian Research Council. The authors would like to acknowledge that the source of the Alberta geometry used in this work was kindly provided from Dr. Finlay’s Aerosol Research Laboratory of Alberta at the University of Alberta, Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Drug Delivery Group, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Patricia Tang, Philip Chi Lip Kwok & Hak-Kim Chan

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Zhenbo Tong & Runyu Yang

  3. University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Judy Agnes Raper

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  1. Patricia Tang
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  2. Philip Chi Lip Kwok
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  3. Zhenbo Tong
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Correspondence to Hak-Kim Chan.

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Tang, P., Kwok, P.C.L., Tong, Z. et al. Does the United States Pharmacopeia Throat Introduce De-agglomeration of Carrier-Free Powder from Inhalers?. Pharm Res 29, 1797–1807 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-012-0703-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-012-0703-y

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