Medical aerosol propellants

History of inhaler devices

“…Previously, asthma sufferers had a tough time managing their condition and could only do so by using awkward glass nebulisers which often broke; or medications were often taken orally (Noakes, 2002). However, one day in 1956, the daughter of the scientifi c president at Riker Laboratories (Noakes, 2002;Dalby and Suman, 2003;Rubin and Fink, 2005) compared her nebuliser device to a can of hairspray; her father took the notion seriously and presented the company with an innovative idea which inherently led to the development of the pMDI. The head chemist at Riker Laboratories initially developed the bronchodilator with an old ice cream freezer, a case of soda bottles, some propellant, and a bottle capper (Fink, 2000).…”

“…The head chemist at Riker Laboratories initially developed the bronchodilator with an old ice cream freezer, a case of soda bottles, some propellant, and a bottle capper (Fink, 2000). This device was a signifi cant advance on previous dosage forms (Noakes, 2002), and after the fi rst MDI was marketed in 1956 there was a rapid growth over the next 10 to 15 years in the use of MDIs, with many of the leading brands that are seen today. As MDIs use a dosage form, this became extremely popular not only to treat but also to prevent and relieve the symptoms associated with pulmonary disorders, especially for asthmatics.…”

“…However, a study conducted in 1974, by Rowland and Molena (Fink, 2000;Rubin and Fink, 2005), theorised that chlorofl uorocarbons (CFCs) were contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer, which inherently led to the ban of CFCs in common aerosol products by the mid-1980s in the Montreal Protocol established in 1987 (Noakes, 2002;Dalby and Suman, 2003). It was not until 1996 that production of CFC products ceased because there was a lack of alternative propellants due to the high costs of toxicity tests; yet pMDIs were exempt from the ban until a suitable alternative had been discovered, which escalated the development of the dry powder inhalers (DPIs) (Fink, 2000).…”

“…This type of inhaler requires an adequate inspiratory fl ow rate for drug delivery, as it does not include a propellant (Harris, 2008). Due to the requirement of an inspiratory fl ow, DPIs are not appropriate for the treatment of acute asthma attacks (Noakes, 2002). Currently, there are three types of DPIs available: single-dose, multi-dose and reservoir-based design (Harris, 2008).…”

Physical evaluations of Haruan spray for wound dressing and wound healing.

“…The topical spray dosage form can deliver the bioactive compound directly to the injured area and produce a film that can cover wound of any size. The spray dosage form for oral and topical was developed in the early 1950s and used CFCs as propellant [10,11,12,13]. However, the development of this dosage form using the CFCs as propellant was stopped due to the reported ozone-depleting properties of CFCs in 1974 [14].…”