Investigation of inter-subject variation in ultrafine particle deposition across human nasal airways: A study involving children, adults, and the elderly

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 955; p. 177028
• Main Authors: Sun, Qinyuan, Zhang, Ya, Tian, Lin, Tu, Jiyuan, Corley, Richard, Kuprat, Andrew P., Dong, Jingliang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 10.12.2024; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Age Factors; Aged; air flow; Air Pollutants - analysis; Child; Computational fluid particle dynamics; Deposition efficiency; elderly; environment; exposure assessment; Female; filtration; Humans; Inhalation Exposure; Inter-subject variation; longevity; Male; nanoparticles; Nasal cavity; nose; Particle Size; Particulate Matter - analysis; Ultrafine particles; Young Adult; Computational fluid particle dynamics; Inter-subject variation; Ultrafine particles; Nasal cavity; Deposition efficiency; Age
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177028

The airflow and particle dynamics in adult nasal airways have been extensively investigated, but the impact of age-related anatomical changes in children and the elderly remains underexplored. This study systematically investigates age-related anatomical variations and associated influence on nasal airflow dynamics and ultrafine particle deposition characteristics by using Computational Fluid-Particle Dynamics (CFPD) approach. Numerical simulations were conducted for 9 healthy nasal subjects spanning a wide age range. 6 Nasal subjects from the Development Group were used as the primary models for data analysis and deposition correlation development, while 3 subjects from the Validation Group were used to validate the reliability of the derived total and subregional deposition correlations. Our results reveal distinctive variations across age groups. Specifically, the elderly and children exhibit unique patterns that differ from those of young adults. While total deposition efficiency differs significantly between children and adults, filtration efficiency in the subregion with most deposition, main respiratory, remains consistent. Lastly, overall and subregional empirical equations for deposition efficiency were developed by incorporating the combined diffusion parameter, Sca∆b, corroborating the use of geometrical characteristic parameters for each specific subject in predicting nasal deposition efficiency across different age groups. Our findings are expected to improve the predictive nanoparticle exposure analysis in nasal airways across different age groups, thereby improving the respiratory health for individuals throughout the life span. [Display omitted] •Impact of age-related anatomical changes on nasal particle deposition was studied.•Deposition equations were developed using the combined diffusion parameter.•Filtration efficiency in the main respiratory remains consistent across age groups.•It paves the way for inhalation studies involving individuals across the life span.