Inhaling to mitigate exhaled bioaerosols

David A. Edwards, Jonathan C. Man, Peter Brand, Jeffrey P. Katstra, K. Sommerer, Howard A. Stone, Edward Warded, Gerhard Scheuch

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

257 Scopus citations

Abstract

Humans commonly exhale aerosols comprised of small droplets of airway-lining fluid during normal breathing. These "exhaled bioaerosols" may carry airborne pathogens and thereby magnify the spread of certain infectious diseases, such as influenza, tuberculosis, and severe acute respiratory syndrome. We hypothesize that, by altering lung airway surface properties through an inhaled nontoxic aerosol, we might substantially diminish the number of exhaled bioaerosol droplets and thereby provide a simple means to potentially mitigate the spread of airborne infectious disease independently of the identity of the airborne pathogen or the nature of any specific therapy. We find that some normal human subjects expire many more bioaerosol particles than other individuals during quiet breathing and therefore bear the burden of production of exhaled bioaerosols. Administering nebulized isotonic saline to these "high-producer" individuals diminishes the number of exhaled bioaerosol particles expired by 72.10 ± 8.19% for up to 6 h. In vitro and in vivo experiments with saline and surfactants suggest that the mechanism of action of the nebulized saline relates to modification of the physical properties of the airway-lining fluid, notably surface tension.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)17383-17388
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume101
Issue number50
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 14 2004

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

Keywords

  • Drug delivery
  • Infectious disease
  • Influenza
  • Lung

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