Squeezing out ultrafine hydrophobic and poor water-soluble drug particles with water vapour

This short communication describes a scalable new method to produce ultrafine hydrophobic or poorly soluble drug particles. Ultrafine Vitamin D3, Aspirin and Ibuprofen particles in the submicron range were produced. The method is an extension of the antisolvent vapour precipitation technique which exposes a droplet to an antisolvent vapour with reference to the dissolved materials within the droplet. In this work, the drug material was dissolved in ethanol droplets and then exposed to a convective stream of water vapour. Absorption of the water vapour into the droplet resulted in the precipitation of the particles. The precipitated submicron particles showed good dispersion behaviour in water droplets. This work will form the basis for using spray dryers as high-throughput scalable micro-precipitators.     

Experimental test of scaling of mixing by chaotic advection in droplets moving through microfluidic channels

This letter describes an experimental test of a simple argument that predicts the scaling of chaotic mixing in a droplet moving through a winding microfluidic channel. Previously, scaling arguments for chaotic mixing have been described for a flow that reduces striation length by stretching, folding, and reorienting the fluid in a manner similar to that of the baker's transformation. The experimentally observed flow patterns within droplets (or plugs) resembled the baker's transformation. Therefore, the ideas described in the literature could be applied to mixing in droplets to obtain the scaling argument for the dependence of the mixing time, t~(aw/U)log(Pe), where w [m] is the cross-sectional dimension of the microchannel, a is the dimensionless length of the plug measured relative to w, U [m s(-1)] is the flow velocity, Pe is the Péclet number (Pe=wU/D), and D [m(2)s(-1)] is the diffusion coefficient of the reagent being mixed. Experiments were performed to confirm the scaling argument by varying the parameters w, U, and D. Under favorable conditions, submillisecond mixing has been demonstrated in this system.     

On the secondary droplets of self-running gallium droplets on GaAs surface

Self-running droplets by thermal evaporation GaAs (001) surface are studied and analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. The sample is prepared under high-temperature annealing in an ultrahigh vacuum molecular beam epitaxy system. Particularly, secondary droplets which formed along primary droplet running trails are investigated. The secondary droplets are found to initially move along the [1 ?10] instead of [110] direction, but these droplets tend to turn into [110] direction as they grow bigger. The scanning electron microscope also captures nanoscale footprints of secondary droplets different from the main droplets.     

Probing solvent fractionation in electrospray droplets with laser-induced fluorescence of a solvatochromic dye

Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy is used to profile solvent fractionation in an electrospray plume containing Nile Red, a solvatochromic dye (i.e., a dye for which spectral features are sensitive to solvent polarity). The results confirm gradual enrichment of the less volatile component in spray droplets as a result of solvent evaporation. Changes in solvent composition are evident in both axial and lateral profiles. The influences of capillary voltage, nebulizing gas, an electrolyte modifier, and flow rate on the extent of solvent fractionation are assessed. The results suggest that, in addition to volatility of the solvents, major factors affecting solvent fractionation include initial droplet size, droplet velocity, and the cooling effect of the nebulizing gas. Isolating contributions from these factors will require complementary data from other experiments.     

Backscattering measurement from a single microdroplet

Backscattering measurements for acoustically trapped lipid droplets were undertaken by employing a P[VDF-TrFE] broadband transducer of f-number = 1, with a bandwidth of 112%. The wide bandwidth allowed the transmission of the 45 MHz trapping signal and the 15 MHz sensing signal using the same transducer. Tone bursts at 45 MHz were first transmitted by the transducer to hold a single droplet at the focus (or the center of the trap) and separate it from its neighboring droplets by translating the transducer perpendicularly to the beam axis. Subsequently, 15 MHz probing pulses were sent to the trapped droplet and the backscattered RF echo signal received by the same transducer. The measured beam width at 15 MHz was measured to be 120 μ m. The integrated backscatter (IB) coefficient of an individual droplet was determined within the 6-dB bandwidth of the transmit pulse by normalizing the power spectrum of the RF signal to the reference spectrum obtained from a flat reflector. The mean IB coefficient for droplets with a 64 μ m average diameter (denoted as cluster A) was -107 dB, whereas it was -93 dB for 90-μm droplets (cluster B). The standard deviation was 0.9 dB for each cluster. The experimental values were then compared with those computed with the T-matrix method and a good agreement was found: the difference was as small as 1 dB for both clusters. These results suggest that this approach might be useful as a means for measuring ultrasonic backscattering from a single microparticle, and illustrate the potential of acoustic sensing for cell sorting.     

Laser-induced Spray Jet Cleaning Using Isopropyl Alcohol for Nanoparticle Removal from Solid Surfaces

Recent studies demonstrated that laser-induced spray jet cleaning (LSJC) based on optical breakdown of a water droplet is an effective way to remove nanoscale contaminant particles from solid surfaces with use of small amount of water. In this work, an LSJC process using isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as a non-water cleaning agent was developed. High-speed spray jet composed of atomized micro droplets of IPA was generated by inducing optical breakdown in the droplet. The particle removal efficiency was slightly lower than that of the LSJC using water droplets but it was high enough to remove 30 nm polystyrene latex particles completely and 10 nm gold particles partially from silicon wafers. Optical microscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry confirmed that the LSJC process using IPA caused no watermark problem commonly observed in water-based cleaning processes without a special rinsing and drying process.     

Spray pattern analysis for metered dose inhalers I: Orifice size, particle size, and droplet motion correlations

Factors that influence spray pattern measurements of pressurized, metered-dose inhalers have been evaluated. Spray patterns were correlated with changes in actuator orifice diameter, particle size profiles, and calculated estimates of particle-size dynamics of plumes during a spray. Spray patterns, regardless of actuator orifice size, were ellipsoid in the vertical direction. Measures of elliptical ratio, major axis, and minor axis were significantly influenced by orifice size in a non-linear fashion over the range of orifice sizes investigated. Spray patterns also correlated with particle size profile and spray geometry measurements. Spray distribution asymmetry may be related to droplet evaporation and sedimentation processes. However, the spray patterns did not appear sensitive to changes in gravitational force acting on the plume. Instead, it is postulated that elliptical spray patterns may have dependence on fluid dynamic processes within the inhaler actuator. Developing an understanding of these processes may provide a basis for developing spray pattern tests with relevance to product performance.     

Characterization and verification of astigmatic interferometric particle imaging for volumetric droplet 3D position and size measurement

Sprays generated by atomization processes have been used in a wide range of fields. The size and spatial distribution of volumetric droplets in a spray are critical parameters in industrial applications. Astigmatic interferometric particle imaging (AIPI), an extension of the traditional interferometric particle imaging (IPI), is developed to simultaneously measure the size and 3D position of volumetric droplets in a sparse spray. Based on the generalized Huygens–Fresnel integral and the transfer matrix, the size and depth position of droplet can be respectively extracted from the fringe spacing and orientation of interferogram in AIPI. An AIPI setup is established to characterize droplets in a sparse spray generated by a nozzle with the AIPI calibration procedure adopted. The measured parameters by AIPI are compared with those obtained synchronously by digital inline holography, which is regarded as a standard measurement technique. Results show that the average deviation values of droplet size and depth position are respectively 3.8% and 6.8%. AIPI has been demonstrated with high accuracy in simultaneous 3D positions and size measurements.     

Spray Pattern Analysis for Metered Dose Inhalers I: Orifice Size,Particle Size,and Droplet Motion Correlations

ABSTRACT

Factors that influence spray pattern measurements of pressurized, metered-dose inhalers have been evaluated. Spray patterns were correlated with changes in actuator orifice diameter, particle size profiles, and calculated estimates of particle-size dynamics of plumes during a spray. Spray patterns, regardless of actuator orifice size, were ellipsoid in the vertical direction. Measures of elliptical ratio, major axis, and minor axis were significantly influenced by orifice size in a non-linear fashion over the range of orifice sizes investigated. Spray patterns also correlated with particle size profile and spray geometry measurements. Spray distribution asymmetry may be related to droplet evaporation and sedimentation processes. However, the spray patterns did not appear sensitive to changes in gravitational force acting on the plume. Instead, it is postulated that elliptical spray patterns may have dependence on fluid dynamic processes within the inhaler actuator. Developing an understanding of these processes may provide a basis for developing spray pattern tests with relevance to product performance.     

Spraying mode effect on droplet formation and ion chemistry in electrosprays

Depending on the spraying conditions and fluid properties, a variety of electrospray regimes exists. Here we explore the changes in ion production that accompany the transitions among the three axial spraying modes, the burst mode, the pulsating Taylor cone mode, and the cone-jet mode. Spray current oscillation and phase Doppler anemometry measurements, fast imaging of the electrified meniscus, and mass spectrometry are utilized to study the formation, size, velocity, and chemical composition of droplets produced in the three modes. High-speed images indicate that the primary droplets are produced by varicose waves and lateral kink instabilities on the liquid jet emerging from the Taylor cone, whereas secondary droplets are formed by fission. Dramatic changes in the droplet size distributions result from the various production and breakup mechanisms observed at different emitter voltages and liquid flow rates. We demonstrate that droplet fission can be facilitated by space charge effects along the liquid jet and in the plume. Compared to the other two regimes, a significantly enhanced signal-to-noise ratio, a lower degree of analyte oxidation, and milder fragmentation are observed for the cone-jet mode.     

Simulation of a spray scrubber performance with Eulerian/Lagrangian approach in the aerosol removing process

In this study, a mathematical model has been developed to simulate the performance of a spray scrubber in an industrial ammonium nitrate plant. The model is based on the Lagrangian approach for the droplets movement and particle source in cell (PSI-CELL) model for calculating the droplet concentration distribution. Consequently, unlike former research, the emphasis is on the droplet dynamic behavior. In the current study, for approaching a realistic model, a droplet size distribution rather than average diameter, and also liquid film formation rather than uniform and constant droplet flow rate has been applied. Also, the Eulerian method has been used for the calculation of the particles removal efficiency and energy balance has been applied on the gas to estimate the droplet size distribution. In the experimental section, the concentration of particles and their size distribution in both inlet and outlet gas of the studied scrubber has been measured for the validation of the predicted particles collection efficiency. In addition, the temperature of the gas at inlet, outlet and in the middle of the tower has been measured for the confirmation of the predicted droplet size distribution in the tower. A good consistency between the model and data has been observed. After the model is validated, it is used to investigate the various variable profiles such as liquid film, total projected surface area of the droplets, velocity profile of the droplets and some of the other parameters in the spray scrubbers.     

Influence of internal refractive index gradients on size measurements of spherically symmetric particles by phase Doppler anemometry

A model based on geometric optics for predicting the response of interferometric (phase Doppler) instruments for size measurements of particles with radially symmetric but inhomogeneous internal refractive index profiles is developed. The model and results are important for applications in which heat or mass transfer from the particles or droplets is significant, for example, in liquid-fuel combustion. To quantify the magnitude of potential bias errors introduced by the classical assumption of uniform internal properties on phase Doppler measurements, we compute calibration curves for a sequence of times during the evaporation of a decane droplet immersed in an environment of T = 2000 K and p = 10 bars. The results reveal considerable effects on the relation between phase difference and droplet diameter caused by the refractive index gradients present. The model provides an important tool to assess sizing uncertainties that can be expected when applying conventional (based on uniform properties) phase Doppler calibration curves in spray combustion and similar processes.     

Droplet breakup in electrostatic spray based on multiple physical fields

A droplet breakup model was proposed for simulating electrostatic spray in multiple physical fields. The static electricity, laminar flow and droplet atomization in COMSOL Multiphysics were coupled completely, and a two-dimensional simulation model was established. The process of droplet breakup and movement of electrostatic spray was revealed under the action of electric field, gravity field and air field. The electric field distribution under the needle ring electrode configuration was studied. The effects of different electrostatic voltage, needle ring distance and ring electrode diameter on droplet breakup characteristics, distribution uniformity and charge characteristics were analyzed. When the electrostatic voltage is -6 ～ -7 kV, the needle ring distance is 4 mm, and the ring electrode diameter is 30 mm, the electrostatic spray effect is better, and the density standard deviation is as low as 0.04528 /mm², 0.0559 /mm² and 0.06016 /mm², respectively. Electrostatic spray has the characteristics of refining droplets, improving the uniformity of droplets distribution and controlling spray morphology, which provides a strong basis for the application of electrostatic spray in surface film preparation, dust removal, fuel injection and other practical engineering fields.     

The Zeta Potential Op Droplets Prepared from a Self-Emulsifying Oil

The zeta potential of droplets formed by the self emulsification of compositions of n-hexane, phosphated nonylphenol ethoxylate and phosphated fatty alcohol ethoxylate has been determined in water and aqueous electrolyte solutions over a pH range of 3-11. Anomalies may be noted as a function of the n-hexane concentration of the surfactant/oil composition added to water. This, it is suggested, may be related to the mesomorphic systems that occur in bulk composition/water mixtures and could form at the interface of the droplets in water.

Effects on the electrophoretic/mobility observed in the presence of sodium, lithium, calcium or magnesium may be explained by the relative size of the sphere of hydration around the cat ion that controls the depth of penetration through the surface layers of the droplets.

Aluminum ions appear to react completely with the surfactant phosphate moiety, precipitating directly onto the droplet surface. The droplet surface charge always remains negative and below 30 mV except in the presence of aluminum ions. The maximum charge is obtained at the pH of 5.5 which approximates to the pKa₁ Df the surfactant mixture.     

流体粘弹性对喷墨印刷液滴参数影响

目的研究粘弹性非牛顿流体中聚合物参数对喷墨液滴形成过程中各项数据的关系,通过所得数据进行数值处理,构成关于聚合物参数变量的液滴类型空间。方法模拟实验中采用FENE-CR流体模型,将FENE-CR流体模型中的本构方程与纳维斯托克斯方程和连续介质力学相结合,推导出流体聚合物参数与流体粘弹性的关系。建立液滴喷射模型,采用Flow 3D数值模拟方法模拟聚合物参数变化对喷墨液滴形成过程的影响。结果得到了聚合物参数(聚合物延展性L、聚合浓度C和聚合物De值)对喷墨印刷中墨滴断裂过程的各项主要数据:主液滴最终速度vf、液滴尺寸V、墨尾最大长度Z,墨尾一次断裂时间tb的具体关系曲线。结论对于非牛顿粘弹性流体,虽然高分子聚合物在整个流体中所占比例很小,但是它的存在对流体粘弹性变化影响显著,聚合物种类和浓度的不同会最终导致液滴形成过程中各项数值发生巨大的变化。     

Spatial mapping of droplet velocity and size for direct and indirect nebulization in plasma spectrometry

Two novel laser-based imaging techniques centered on particle image velocimetry and optical patternation are used to map and contrast the size and velocity distributions for indirect and direct pneumatic nebulizations in plasma spectrometry. The flow field of droplets is illuminated by two pulses from a thin laser sheet with a known time difference. The scattering of the laser light from droplets is captured by a charge-coupled device (CCD), providing two instantaneous images of the particles. Pointwise cross-correlation of the corresponding images yields a two-dimensional velocity map of the aerosol velocity field. For droplet size distribution studies, the solution is doped with a fluorescent dye and both laser-induced florescence (LIF) and Mie scattering images are captured simultaneously by two CCDs with the same field of view. The ratio of the LIF/Mie images provides relative droplet size information, which is then scaled by a point calibration method via a phase Doppler particle analyzer. Two major findings are realized for three nebulization systems: (1) a direct injection high-efficiency nebulizer (DIHEN); (2) a large-bore DIHEN; and (3) a PFA microflow nebulizer with a PFA Scott-type spray chamber. First, the central region of the aerosol cone from the direct injection nebulizers and the nebulizer-spray chamber arrangement consists of fast (>13 and >8 m/s, respectively) and fine (<10 and <5 microm, respectively) droplets as compared to slow (<4 m/s) and large (>25 microm) droplets in the fringes. Second, the spray chamber acts as a momentum separator, rather than a droplet size selector, as it removes droplets having larger sizes or velocities. The concepts and results presented in this research may be used to develop smart-tunable nebulizers, for example, by using the measured momentum as a feedback control for adjusting the nebulizer, i.e., its operating conditions, its critical dimensions, or both.     

Numerical simulation of gas-droplets mixing and spray evaporation in rotary spray desulfurization tower

Motion and evaporation of droplets significantly affect the semidry flue gas desulfurization efficiency and long-term operation. Both the flow field distribution and the heat and mass transfer in the spray towers are studied by numerical simulation, and the process of droplet motion and evaporation is analyzed in detail. Then, two indices, mixing variance and droplet mass-weighted life, are provided to quantify gas droplet mixing and the droplet group evaporation time. The simulation results show that the radial penetration distance of the droplets is longer with the diameter increase, and the appropriate swirl number improves the mixing between the flue gas and droplets. With the increase of droplet diameter and velocity, the droplet distribution in the tower is more widely, obtaining the optimum mixing variance. The droplet mass-weighted life is promoted linearly with the increase of average droplet diameter and the decrease of flue gas temperature. With flue gas temperature increase from 458 k to 488 K, the droplet mass-weighted life decreases linearly by 31%. In comparison, the initial droplet velocity and spray angle have a slight effect on the droplet mass-weighted life.     

Droplet velocity and thermal state from hot gas atomization of steel melt: Impact on the quality of the spray-formed tubular deposit

The velocity and thermal behavior (temperature, enthalpy, solid fraction) of atomized droplets in a metal spray play the most important role in the spray forming process. These properties mainly determine the materials yield and the final product quality (e.g., porosity, microstructure) of the as-sprayed materials. Changing the gas temperature in the atomization process directly influences these droplet properties in the spray. To understand the droplet behavior in the spray at various atomization gas temperatures (i.e., room temperature RT 293 K, 573 K, 873 K), numerical simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques have been performed and validated by experiments. A series of atomization runs (powder production and spray-forming with AISI 52100 steel) has been conducted at different atomization gas temperatures and pressures with a close-coupled atomizer (CCA). The in-situ temperature detection of the deposit surface (pyrometer) and in the substrate (thermocouples) has been performed to observe the effect of particle properties on the deposit. The result shows that hot gas atomization provides smaller droplets with faster velocity in the spray, affecting the droplet impact and deformation time in the deposition zone. A higher solid fraction of the smaller droplets by hot gas atomization also reduces the deposit surface temperature. Increasing the substrate diameter further decreases the deposit surface temperature without compromising the deposit quality (i.e., porosity) and also refines the grain size. Pre-heating of the substrate up to 573 K results in lower porosity in the vicinity of the substrate.     

Observation of Ga droplet formation on (311)A and (511)A GaAs surfaces

Using (100) GaAs substrates as a reference, we present a study of the formation of Ga droplets on (311)A and (511)A GaAs substrates in which the effect of both the substrate temperature and the amount of Ga supplied on the droplet density and height for the three different surfaces have been investigated. Droplets on (100) substrates show a round shape; however, they appear as elongated balls with tails along the [Formula: see text] direction of the (311)A substrate and the [Formula: see text] direction of the (511)A substrate. It has been found that the Ga droplets on (511)A surfaces have lower densities and higher heights than those on (100) substrates. In contrast, Ga droplets on (311)A surfaces have lower heights and much higher densities compared to those for both (100) and (511)A. We observed that the decrease in the droplet density with increasing growth temperature for both (311)A and (511)A is more than twice that for the (100)GaAs surface due to the larger drop in the nucleation rate. Based on these observations, we offer a physical explanation based on the thermodynamics and the anisotropy of the high-index surfaces.     

Bulk synthesis of amorphous and nano‐crystalline materials by spray forming

Bulk amorphous and nano‐crystalline metallic materials have been observed to possess excellent mechanical and physical properties. The conventional process routes, to synthesize such materials, are restricted by their ability to achieve rapid solidification, which limits the dimensions of the materials produced. In the last 10–12 years, spray forming has been employed to avoid these limitations by using its capability of layer by layer deposition of undercooled droplets. The current literature indicates that the opportunities provided by this process can be effectively utilized to produce bulk materials in a single step. In this paper, an attempt has been made to bring out the developments in the synthesis of bulk amorphous and/or nano‐crystalline materials by spray forming. The effect of process parameters, droplet size distribution in the atomized spray, the thermal conditions of droplets prior to deposition and the deposition surface conditions have been discussed. It has been demonstrate that a layer by layer deposition of undercooled droplets of glass forming alloys on a relatively cold deposition surface is the suitable condition to achieve bulk amorphous/nano‐crystalline materials.