Improved olfactory deposition of theophylline using a nanotech soft mist nozzle chip
Authors: Madeline X. Zhang, Frank Verhoeven, Pieter Ravensbergen, Stefan Kooij, Rick Geoffrion, Daniel Bonn, Cees J. M. van Rijn
Journal: Pharmaceutics, Volume 16(2), 2024
Abstract: Currently, nasal administration of active pharmaceutical ingredients is most commonly performed using swirl-nozzle-based pump devices or pressurised syringes.
However, they lead to limited deposition in the more active regions of the nasal cavity, especially the olfactory region, which is crucial for nose-to-brain drug delivery. This research proposes to improve deposition in the olfactory region by replacing the swirl nozzle with a nanoengineered nozzle chip containing micrometer-sized holes, which generates smaller droplets of 10–50 μm travelling at a lower plume velocity.
Two nanotech nozzle chips with different hole sizes were tested at different inhalation flow rates to examine the deposition patterns of theophylline, a hyposmia treatment formulation, using a nasal cavity model. A user study was also conducted and showed that the patient instructions influenced the inhalation flow rate characteristics. Targeted flow rates of between 0 and 25 L/min were used for the in vitro deposition study, yielding 21.5–31.5% olfactory coverage. In contrast, the traditional swirl nozzle provided only 10.8% coverage at a similar flow rate. This work highlights the potential of the nanotech soft mist nozzle for improved intranasal drug delivery, particularly to the olfactory region.
