Accessorized DPI: a Shortcut towards Flexibility and Patient Adaptability in Dry Powder Inhalation

• Published in: Pharmaceutical research Vol. 33; no. 12; pp. 3012 - 3020
• Main Authors: Buttini, Francesca, Hannon, James, Saavedra, Kristi, Rossi, Irene, Balducci, Anna Giulia, Smyth, Hugh, Clark, Andy, Colombo, Paolo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2016; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Administration, Inhalation; Aerosols; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Biomedicine; Dispersion; Drug Carriers; Drug Compounding; Drug delivery systems; Drugs; Dry Powder Inhalers - instrumentation; Dry Powder Inhalers - methods; Equipment Design; Flat panel displays; Formoterol; Humans; Lactose; Lactose - chemistry; Medical Law; Particle Size; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Pharmacy; Powder metallurgy; Powders; Research Paper; Respiratory diseases; Vehicles; formoterol fumarate; axial oscillating sphere; dry powder inhaler; fine particle dose; atmospheric pressure
• ISSN: 0724-8741; 1573-904X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11095-016-2023-0

Purpose In this work, a novel powder dispersion add-on device, the AOS (Axial Oscillating Sphere), was studied in conjunction with commercially available DPI devices to improve the powder dispersion. Methods An ordered mixture of formoterol fumarate and lactose was selected. We studied in two laboratories located at different altitudes the dispensing and dispersion of the drug at different flow rates, paying particular attention to a number of metrics of Fine Particle Dose (FPD). Results Two novel findings emerged from the data collected. First, the aerosol quality, measured as fine particle dose, can be increased by adding the accessory promoting the dispersion and de-aggregation of the formulation. The second finding was that, albeit the emitted dose was independent of altitude, the drug/lactose carrier DPI aerosolizing performance changed with the altitude of testing. In particular, fine particle dose depended on both altitude and device configuration. The RS01 inhaler without the AOS accessory used at higher altitude gave the lowest FPD values. By combining the AOS accessory with the DPI, however, the performance dependence on altitude/atmospheric pressure was essentially removed. Conclusions Increasing inhaler performance can be achieved using an add-on accessory that enhances aerosol dispersion and minimizes flow rate dependency.