Computational vs. In Vitro Approach to Predict Aerodynamic Performance of Dry Powders for Inhalation

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) coupled with discrete phase modeling (DPM) appeared as an alternative approach to the commonly used in vitro methods for the assessment of dry powders for inhalation (DPI) aerodynamic properties. The aim of this study was to compare the parameters that describe DPI aerodynamic performance,obtained computationally by CFD-DPM and in vitro by next generation impactor (NGI). The analyzed parameters included: emitted fraction (EF),fine particle fraction (FPF),mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) and geometric standard deviation (GSD). The results showed that CFD-DPM simulated EF values were generally comparable to the NGI obtained values,but there were some differences between the results obtained by these two methods. On the other hand,CFD-DPM predicted MMAD values were almost twice bigger than the NGI determined values,while the predicted GSD values were lower than NGI obtained values. In addition,CFD-DPM predicted values indicated larger differences between MMAD for different formulations in comparison to the NGI results. The largest difference between CFD-DPM and NGI results was observed for FPF values. Namely,CFD-DPM predicted FPF values were markedly lower than the NGI determined values for four of five tested formulations. Overall,although the designed CFD-DPM model and NGI measurements provided comparable data on the DPI EF values,the other relevant parameters obtained by these two approaches largely diverged indicating the need for further refinement of computational models to fully capture DPI aerodynamic performance.