UNS: Surfactant Induced Post-Deposition Dispersal of Solid Particles at Liquid/Air Interfaces with Application to Pulmonary Drug Delivery

CBET -1510293 PI：Garoff，Stephen许多治疗呼吸系统疾病的药物被配制成干粉，并通过吸入直接进入肺部。 吸入疗法的挑战之一是确保精确的剂量均匀地输送到整个肺部。 药物颗粒可优先存款在某些气道的某些位置，而不能到达其它位置或气道，尤其是在阻塞性疾病的情况下。 本项目将探索在药物颗粒沉积到气道表面的液体衬里上后促进其分散的方法。 该策略是使用表面活性剂，作为颗粒与药物颗粒一起递送，以建立液体中表面张力沿沿着的空间变化。 表面张力的变化诱导称为马兰戈尼流的流动，其可以夹带药物颗粒并使它们沿着气道表面移动。该项目包括一系列实验，以了解颗粒沿着液体表面运动的动力学，并确定材料特性如何影响药物分散的最终程度。该项目将探索决定吸入药物颗粒分散程度的因素，包括表面活性剂的特性，如表面张力降低，溶解度和溶解动力学以及表面活性剂颗粒的润湿性和颗粒的尺寸。药物颗粒的类似性质将影响Marangoni流中夹带的颗粒的运动。将确定与大量共混的表面活性剂和药物模型颗粒的沉积模式如何控制大规模粉末分散相关的集体效应，并将进行多变量分析以确定控制沉积后分散程度的主要因素。作为共施用两种颗粒的替代方案，将检查含有药物和表面活性剂以诱导Marangoni流的复合颗粒。

CBET - 1510293PI: Garoff, StephenMany drugs to treat respiratory disorders are formulated as dry powders and delivered directly into the lungs by inhalation. One of the challenges in inhalation therapy is guaranteeing the precise dose is delivered uniformly throughout the lungs. The drug particles may preferentially deposit in some locations in certain airways and not reach other locations or airways, especially in cases of obstructive disease. This project will explore ways to promote dispersal of drug particles after they have been deposited onto the liquid lining of airway surfaces. The strategy is to use surfactants, delivered as particles, with the drug particles to establish spatial variations of surface tension in the liquid along airway surfaces. Variations in surface tension induce flows called Marangoni flows that can entrain the drug particles and move them along airway surfaces. The project comprises a series of experiments to understand the dynamics of particle motion along the liquid surface and to determine how material properties influence the final extent of drug dispersal.The project will explore factors that determine the extent of dispersal of inhaled drug particles, including properties of the surfactant, such as surface tension reduction, solubility and kinetics of dissolution as well as wettability of the surfactant particles and size of the particles. Similar properties for the drug particles will affect the motion of the particles entrained in the Marangoni flow. Collective effects related to how the deposition pattern of large numbers of co-mingled surfactant and drug model particles controls large scale powder dispersal will be determined, and a multi-variate analysis will be performed to determine the primary factors that control the extent of post-deposition dispersal. As an alternative to co-administering two kinds of particles, a composite particle that contains both the drug and a surfactant to induce the Marangoni flow will be examined.