A Self-Sealing Spray Nozzle for Aerosol Drug Delivery

Chronic lung disease is commonly treated using portable inhaler systems. By design, these inhalers come into repeated contact with the mouth region of patients and are therefore subject to bacterial contamination and ingrowth. To enable the safe delivery of an aerosol from a drug reservoir of such an inhaler, the reservoir needs to be protected from pathogens. Here we demonstrate a self-sealing aerosol spray nozzle, a system that seals each spray orifice on nozzle level in its default closed state and sprays a liquid Rayleigh-jet upon actuation. The sealing mechanism is realized by placing a thin membrane with spray orifices on top of a valve seat. The membrane behavior and spray performance of the self-sealing spray chip were found to be identical to an equivalent non-sealing design. This sealing system may enable the safe reuse of spray chips for multiple spray operations over an extended period, lowering the cost of treatment while increasing patient compliance. [2019-0252]