Rheology of model aerosol suspensions

The rheological properties of model aerosol suspensions at phase fractions of less than 5% w/v (phase ratio of 0.05) were investigated. The rheological profiles of lactose in chloroform, lactose in trichlorofluoromethane (Propellent 11, P11), and salbutamol sulphate in P11 have been investigated in the presence and absence of lecithin, a phospholipid surface-active agent. The relative viscosities of these disperse systems correlated with the increasing disperse phase fractions and the addition of surfactant was found to reduce these viscosities to a relative viscosity of approximately 1.0. The results suggest that the relative viscosity is a useful indicator of flocculation in these systems, and may be valuable in formulation development.