Copley Scientific videos take the confusion out of cascade impaction
New videos will help improve understanding of inhaled drug product testing
Copley Scientific, a UK-based manufacturer and supplier of inhaler test equipment, has released two new educational videos that provide a clear, easy to understand introduction to critical aspects of inhaled product testing.
The firm says the videos, entitled: How does a cascade impactor work? and System for improved in vitro-in vivo correlations (IVIVCs) of inhaled drug products are an excellent resource for training, for researchers new to inhaled product testing and/or those seeking enhanced testing strategies.
The size of particles delivered by an inhaled product influences where the drug deposits in the lung, affecting effectiveness and is therefore considered a critical quality attribute.
Uniquely, cascade impaction enables the generation of an aerodynamic particle size distribution specifically for the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) within a formulation and is specified in the pharmacopoeias for the testing of all inhaled products.
How does a cascade impactor work? takes the viewer inside an animated cascade impactor – the Andersen Cascade Impactor (ACI) – to provide a step-by-step explanation of how it separates and collects particles for subsequent chemical analysis (typically by HPLC).
In this way the video supports the development of a robust understanding of this pivotal analytical technique, which can, at times, be difficult to understand.
The videos provide a clear, easy to understand introduction to critical aspects of inhaled product testing
Ensuring that data measured in the lab – in vitro – is as representative as possible of what happens to a drug in the body – in vivo – is extremely valuable for bioequivalence and further advancement of inhaled technologies, the firm said.
The second video presents an optimal test set-up that delivers enhanced IVIVCs, relative to standard pharmacopoeial test methods, and explains how each key element works.
Equipment highlighted includes: the breath simulator, for the application of a patient representative breath profile; the Alberta Idealised Throat (AIT) for more realistic modelling of the human throat; and the Mixing Inlet – a key piece of equipment that enables application of a variable flow rate through the inhaler, while maintaining a constant flow rate through the cascade impactor – in this case the Next Generation Impactor (NGI).
Cascade impactors must always be operated at a constant flow rate, which has, until now, been a limitation of this methodology when considering improving IVIVCs.
