Advancement of the Infant Air-Jet Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI): Evaluation of Different Positive-Pressure Air Sources and Flow Rates

Purpose In order to improve the delivery of dry powder aerosol formulations to the lungs of infants, this study implemented an infant air-jet platform and explored the effects of different air sources, flow rates, and pulmonary mechanics on aerosolization performance and aerosol delivery through a preterm nose-throat (NT) in vitro model. Methods The infant air-jet platform was actuated with a positive-pressure air source that delivered the aerosol and provided a full inhalation breath. Three different air sources were developed to provide highly controllable positive-pressure air actuations (using actuation volumes of ~10 mL for the preterm model). While providing different flow waveform shapes, the three air sources were calibrated to produce the same flow rate magnitude (Q90: 90th percentile of flow rate). Multiple air-jet DPI designs were coupled with the air sources and evaluated with a model spray-dried excipient enhanced growth formulation. Results Compared to other designs, the D1-Single air-jet DPI provided improved performance with low variability across all three air sources. With the tested D1-Single air-jet and Timer air source, reducing the flow rate from 4 to 1.7 L/min marginally decreased the aerosol size and significantly increased the lung delivery efficiency above 50% of the loaded dose. These results were not impacted by the presence of downstream pulmonary mechanics (resistance and compliance model). Conclusions The selected design was capable of providing an estimated >50% lung delivery efficiency of a model spray-dried formulation and was not influenced by the air source, thereby enabling greater flexibility for platform deployment in different environments.