Aerosol deposition and airway-to-perfusate transfer in the isolated, perfused rat lung

Abstract

Although the lungs offer a potentially useful alternative route of drug administration, little is known about systemic absorption, after drug delivery to the respiratory tract as inhalation aerosols. A technique was developed and evaluated for the administration of inhalation aerosols to the isolated, perfused rat lung. Well characterised aerosols of disodium fluoresce in were administered to the preparation under controlled respiratory regimes. Subsequent airway-to-perfusate transfer of this highly soluble material, mimicking systemic absorption in whole animals, was monitored by perfusate sampling. Fractional deposition and the time dependence of fractional transfer of this solute were investigated as functions of aerosol particle size distribution, lung tidal volume and ventilation rate, all of which could be held constant during an experiment...