• Dale Farkas, Michael Hindle, and P Worth Longest.
• Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, 401 West Main Street, P.O. Box 843015 Richmond, Virginia, 23284-3015, USA.
• Pharm. Res. 2018 Aug 21; 35 (10): 194.

PurposeTo demonstrate efficient aerosol delivery through an in vitro nasal model using a dry powder inhaler (DPI) requiring low actuation air volumes (LV) applied during low-flow nasal cannula (LFNC) therapy.MethodsA previously developed LV-DPI was connected to a LFNC system with 4 mm diameter tubing. System connections and the nasal cannula interface were replaced with streamlined components. To simulate nasal respiration, an in vitro nasal model was connected to a downstream lung simulator that produced either passive or deep nasal respiration. Performance of a commercial mesh nebulizer system was also considered.ResultsFor the optimized system, steady state cannula emitted dose was 75% of the capsule loaded dose. With cyclic nasal breathing, delivery efficiency to the tracheal filter was 53-55% of the loaded dose, which was just under the design target of 60%. Compared with a commercially available mesh nebulizer, the optimal LV-DPI was 40-fold more efficient and 150 times faster in terms of delivering aerosol to the lungs.ConclusionsThe optimized LV-DPI system is capable of high efficiency lung delivery of powder aerosols through a challenging nasal cannula interface.

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