CONTEXT: Pulmonary route of administration is becoming more popular for drug delivery in pulmonary tract and lungs for local and systemic actions. OBJECTIVE: A dry powder inhaler (DPI) for delivery of dry powder and a nose-only inhalation chamber for small animals that can be used with nebuliser/DPI were designed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The inhalation chamber was made with a polypropylene-rectangular box and centrifuge tubes. DPI was made of a polypropylene tube. Micronized voriconazole and voriconazole solution were used for DPI and nebulizer, respectively, for both in vitro and in vivo studies. RESULTS: In vitro drug deposition from nebulizer was found to be 11-26% w/w and that from DPI was 42 to 57% w/w depending on experimental set up. Uniform deposition across all the inhalation ports was observed irrespective of the methods. Respirable fraction (RF) varied from 34 to 73% in case of nebulizer and from 47 to 54% in case of DPI. In vivo deposition of voriconazole in lungs was found to be 80-130 µg/g of lung tissue in case of DPI and 40-68 µg/g of lung tissue in case of using nebulizer. DISCUSSION: DPI designed was efficient in fluidizing powder bed and dispensing dry powder for inhalation. The inhalation chamber designed was efficient in uniformly distributing drug in various inhalation ports of the chamber. CONCLUSIONS: The DPI and inhalation chamber designed can be successfully used for inhalation study with multiple animals especially mice.
CONTEXT: Pulmonary route of administration is becoming more popular for drug delivery in pulmonary tract and lungs for local and systemic actions. OBJECTIVE: A dry powder inhaler (DPI) for delivery of dry powder and a nose-only inhalation chamber for small animals that can be used with nebuliser/DPI were designed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The inhalation chamber was made with a polypropylene-rectangular box and centrifuge tubes. DPI was made of a polypropylene tube. Micronized voriconazole and voriconazole solution were used for DPI and nebulizer, respectively, for both in vitro and in vivo studies. RESULTS: In vitro drug deposition from nebulizer was found to be 11-26% w/w and that from DPI was 42 to 57% w/w depending on experimental set up. Uniform deposition across all the inhalation ports was observed irrespective of the methods. Respirable fraction (RF) varied from 34 to 73% in case of nebulizer and from 47 to 54% in case of DPI. In vivo deposition of voriconazole in lungs was found to be 80-130 µg/g of lung tissue in case of DPI and 40-68 µg/g of lung tissue in case of using nebulizer. DISCUSSION: DPI designed was efficient in fluidizing powder bed and dispensing dry powder for inhalation. The inhalation chamber designed was efficient in uniformly distributing drug in various inhalation ports of the chamber. CONCLUSIONS: The DPI and inhalation chamber designed can be successfully used for inhalation study with multiple animals especially mice.