Purpose: The purposes of this study are: a) to demonstrate the use of an Electrodynamic Balance (EDB) to investigate the hygroscopic properties of pharmaceutical aerosols; and b) to evaluate the applicability of the Zdanovskii-Stokes-Robinson model (ZSR) in the associated data analysis with multicomponent pharmaceutical aerosols.
Methods: The compositional dependence of the water activity of two model materials commonly employed in the study of pharmaceutical aerosols, namely, NaCl and Disodium Fluorescein (DF), was investigated using an EDB. The water contents of single levitated droplets of NaCl and DF and their mixtures at mass ratios of 1:3, 1:1, 3:1, and 6:1 from dilute concentration to high supersaturation were determined as a function of relative humidity (RH).
Results: At decreasing ambient RH, supersaturated aqueous NaCl droplets lose water and crystallize to form dry solid particles at an RH of approximately 50%. Aqueous DF droplet continues to lose water until it reaches a final state containing about 20% by mass of residual water. Mixed solutions of DF and NaCl crystallize at an RH of approximately 50% and then continue to lose water at lower RHs. The resulting "dried" particle still contains water whose amount depends on the mass ratios of DF and NaCl in the mixture. Good prediction of water activity of the DF-NaCl mixture can be achieved with the ZSR model. Collection of a full set of water activity-composition data at each mass ratio of DF-NaCl requires only a few hours.
Conclusions: The EDB, together with the application of the ZSR model in data treatment, appears to be a valuable tool for studying the hygroscopic properties of pharmaceutical aerosols.