DissolvIt ® enables in vitro simulation of dissolution and absorption of respirable particles in the lung epithelium.
In the patented DissolvIt ® in vitro module: dry powder particles are deposited on a glass surface by PreciseInhale®. The particles are then brought into contact with a simulated lung/airway mucus and the dissolution is studied from the ‘luminal’ side through optical microscopy and from the ‘vascular’ side by chemical analysis of a flow-past perfusion medium.
The system consists of a dissolution chamber, a precision-controlled peristaltic pump and an inverted microscope with a high resolution camera. The dissolution chamber is perfused in single-pass mode after which the blood simulant is collected in a fraction collector. To further mimic the conditions in the lung, this system is heated to 37C.
Particles pre-deposited on glass cover slip are sandwiched with a mucus simulant in the dissolution chamber. Dissolved particles absorbed by the single-pass perfusate are sampled by the fraction collector at selected timepoints. The dissolution process is monitored through the inverted microscope.
