Deposition of large particles in human lung

Twenty-four nonsmoking males, all without history of pulmonary disease, were randomly divided into four groups of six subjects each. The subjects in each group inhaled monodisperse Teflon particles labelled with 111In (half-life 2.83 days); 8.2, 11.5, 13.7 and 16.4 micron aerodynamic diameter, respectively. Radioactivity in head and throat, lung and stomach was determined after 0, 3 and 24 hrs using a profile scanner. For some subjects radioactivity was also determined using a whole-body scanner at 3.5 and 24 hrs. After the 24-hr determination the subjects inhaled labelled Teflon particles again, this time with a filter in front of the mouth. Average values for total deposition in the body, obtained using a profile scanner, whole-body scanner and filter measurements, agreed fairly well. Lung retention values obtained by whole-body and profile scanning also agreed well. The average deposition in the lung, expressed as a percentage of total deposition, was 49, 31, 21 and 13% for the four particle sizes (8.2-16.4 micron). Alveolar deposition, determined as retention at 24 hrs and expressed in percent of total deposition, was 15, 4, 4 and 1%. For the smallest particle sizes the deposition values agreed with earlier investigations. However, for the larger particles the two deposition values were higher than expected when compared to earlier studies.