Dekati Ltd. Release: Unique Tool for Medical Inhaler Development
The BOLAR™ has been designed and developed in co-operation with a global healthcare company, Tampere University of Technology, Aerosol Physics Laboratory and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The Dekati® Bipolar Charge Analyzer measures particle bipolar charge size distribution and is the first commercial instrument capable of determining separately positively and negatively charged particles of inhalation aerosols. After the charge measurement, differently charged particles can be dissolved for analysis from the instrument collection tubes enabling determination of charge to mass ratio in different particle size fractions.
Such information is vital for medical inhalers as the charge carried by inhalation aerosols has been found to affect the device performance and lung deposition which, in turn, has a significant impact on the effectiveness of drug inhaled. The positive and negative charge levels can vary significantly between different inhaler devices depending on the materials used in the device, the device design, carrier and drug particles used in the device and operating conditions. Until now, the measurement of size classified bipolar charge levels has not been possible which makes the BOLAR™ a completely unique tool for inhaler device development.
How it works
The instrument consists of two main components: a flow divider and collection tubes. The flow divider splits the sample evenly into six parts of which five are directed to electrical collection tubes. The sixth branch can be connected to another device, for example a cascade impactor or an ELPI+™ (Electrical Low Pressure Impactor). An impactor stage at the front of each of the five collection tubes removes particles larger than a certain size entering the tube. Each impactor has different cut–off points for each of the five branches so enabling detection of different particle size fractions in different tubes. The collection tube itself consists of two concentric cylinders. The inner cylinder is at high positive potential creating an electrical field between these two cylinders. The sample travels between the cylinders and particles with different polarity drift in the electric field to the cylinders that are both connected to an electrometer. These electrometers then measure separately the amount of negative and positive charge carried by the particles. A back-up filter is placed at the end of each collection tube to collect particles that may go through the tube itself. The collection tubes can be uncoupled after the measurement and particles collected in different tubes analyzed. This way, the device can be used to measure bipolar charge distribution in respect of particle mass and particle composition.
BOLAR™ is a standalone instrument that provides real-time measurement and carries out an automated self check before each measurement. The sample flow rate is adjustable between 30 and 90lpm. The instrument is easy to use and robust and comes with a 7” display with user interface and a standard USP inlet connection. Data is stored on a USB drive and data analysis options for reviewing and analysing charge and mass data are provided with the instrument.
About Dekati
Dekati Ltd., based in Tampere, Finland, has nearly 20 years of experience in developing, manufacturing and marketing high-quality fine particle measurement instruments and aerosol sample conditioning systems for a global customer base. The company develops new products in close co-operation with the world’s leading universities and pharmaceutical companies.
Picture captions (available at www.news-lab.com/press/dekati):
Figure 1: The BOLAR™ is a robust stand alone instrument to support the development of medical inhalers.
Figure 2: The BOLAR™ has been developed in co-operation with a global healthcare company to meet the needs of the industry.
For more information please contact:
Dekati Ltd.
Henna Isherwood, VP & Director, Sales and Marketing
Osuusmyllynkatu 13
FI-33700 Tampere
FINLAND
Tel.: +358 (0)3357 8100
Fax: +358 (0) 3357 8140
Email: henna.isherwood@dekati.fi
www.dekati.com
Particle Instruments LLC.
P.O. Box 270393
Vadnais Heights, MN 55127
USA
Tel.: (612) 328-2722
Fax: (651) 407-9050
Email: Tyler@ParticleInstruments.com
www.particleinstruments.com
Scielutions Ltd.
7 Park Close
Bladon, Woodstock OX20 1RN
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel.: +44 (0)7585 218 679
Email: sales@scielutions.com
http://scielutions.com