Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Dry Powder and Nebulized Aerosol Inhalation of Pharmaceuticals Delivered to Mice Using a Nose-only Exposure System
Published on: April 6, 2017
Formation, characterization, and fate of inhaled drug nanoparticles
Jian Zhang1, Libo Wu, Hak-Kim Chan
1MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
Abstract:
Nanoparticles bring many benefits to pulmonary drug delivery applications, especially for systemic delivery and drugs with poor solubility. They have recently been explored in pressurized metered dose inhaler, nebulizer, and dry powder inhaler applications, mostly in polymeric forms. This article presents a review of processes that have been used to generate pure (non polymeric) drug nanoparticles, methods for characterizing the particles/formulations, their in-vitro and in-vivo performances, and the fate of inhaled nanoparticles.
Related Concept Videos
Factors Affecting Dissolution: Particle Size and Effective Surface Area
Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics: Overview
Factors Influencing Drug Absorption: Pharmaceutical Parameters
Inhaled Medications
Biopharmaceutical Factors Influencing Drug Product Design: Overview
Pharmaceutical Alternatives: Polymorphic Form-Related and Particle Size-Related Therapeutic Nonequivalence

