Mycoplasma pneumonia and H1N1 influenza have always been widely concerned by society. During the peak season, many children are infected, which makes parents very worried. Nebulization therapy is a highly effective treatment for pneumonia. To avoid cross infection, many parents choose to administer nebulization therapy to their children at home after they have taken medication. Therefore, the sales of atomizers have always been good. However, many parents may not know how to measure the quality of atomizers and how to choose a qualified and effective atomizer.

The current mainstream atomizers on the market are based on the principle of air compression. It uses compressed air to generate high-speed airflow through small pipe openings, creating negative pressure, thereby spraying liquids or other fluids into tiny mist like particles. This method produces smaller mist particles, which can better penetrate into the lower respiratory tract, reducing collisions and binding between mist particles, thereby reducing the waste of medication.

Nebulizers based on this principle have high requirements for the particle size of atomization. According to national standards, particles with a diameter of 1-5 μ m micrometers should account for more than 60% of the total number of particles to ensure that drugs can reach the middle airway and below (bronchi) for nebulized inhalation therapy of respiratory diseases such as asthma, cough, pneumonia, etc.

Particle diameter test of atomizer spray

testing environment

The temperature is 26 ℃ and the humidity is 38% RH (Relative Humidity). Add 5ml of physiological saline (0.9% NaCl) into the atomizing cup, and use the SDN3100 aerosol particle size analyzer+diluter kit to detect the atomized particles.

Experimental preparation

① When conducting the droplet size distribution test of inhalation solution, we selected atomizers with high sales volume below 1000 yuan on the market, which are more suitable for household use. The test drug liquid samples have been prepared and standardized before the experiment;

② Building a testing plan: Due to the high concentration of particles atomized by the atomizer, general detection instruments are easily saturated. Therefore, we combined the diluter with the SDN3100 aerosol particle size spectrometer to form the atomizer atomization particle detection kit (hereinafter referred to as the detection kit), and the diluter inlet is the inlet of the detection kit.

Build an aerosol particle size spectrometer to test the atomizer system

Experimental process

① Add the test solution to the atomizer, turn on the atomizer, and generate a certain quantity and size of atomized particles;

② Aim the sprayed atomized particles at the inlet of the detection kit for more than 30 seconds, and observe the display screen of the detection kit to obtain the particle size distribution map of the atomized particles.

SND3100 Aerosol Particle Size Spectrometer for Testing the Atomizer Effect

Conclusion and Suggestions

We tested three common atomizers on the market, with a median particle size of around 2μm and particles within the range of 1-5μm exceeding 60%, which meets national standards. We recommend that you choose atomizers from reputable manufacturers and large brands, and pay attention to the atomization rate, atomization particles, and percentage of particles less than 5 μ m. If you pay attention to atomization comfort, you must choose atomizers with relatively low noise levels. Noise levels above 55dB are still quite noisy, and the atomization rate is not necessarily the faster the better. If it is too fast, it is easy to choke.

SND3100 aerosol particle size spectrometer (multi-channel dust analyzer) horizontal axis scale description: This instrument can measure up to 31 particle size channels, with a detection range of 0.25~35μm. Due to the non-uniform distribution of particle size channels, the horizontal axis scale has been specially processed. The number of horizontal channels is described as follows:

0.1~1μm: 0.1μm interval per quarter

1-10μm: 1μm interval per quarter

10-100μm: with an interval of 10μm per quarter

Explanation of horizontal axis scale of SND3100 aerosol particle size spectrometer