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theHealth 2011; 2(2):51-59

Review

Lung deposition predictions of airborne particles and the emergence of contemporary diseases Part-I
Hussain M 1,2 , Madl P 1 , Khan A 1,2
1 Division 2 Higher

of Physics and Biophysics, Department of Materials Research and Physics, University of Salzburg, Austria, Education Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan

Correspondence Majid Hussain Division of Physics and Biophysics, Department of Materials Research and Physics, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, A-5020, Salzburg, Austria E-mail: [e-mail] Keywords: Lung Deposition, Deposition Mechanisms, Modeling, Clearance Funding This work was funded in part by European Union, Contract No. 516483 (Alpha Risk) and by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan under the scholarship program (Overseas Scholarship for Pakistani Nationals) Competing Interest None declared. Received: March 29, 2011 Accepted: May 4, 2011

Abstract
Inhaled particles can cause a variety of pulmonary illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and even secondary organismic diseases. Thus, predictions of inhaled aerosol deposition in the respiratory tract are essential not only to assess their possible consequences but also to optimize drug delivery using pharmaceutical aerosols. Deposition of inhaled aerosols is a complex phenomenon that depends on the physico-chemical properties of the particles, lung anatomy, and respiratory patterns of the subject. Hence, the prediction of particle deposition for an individual person poses real challenges. Different conceptual particle deposition models are employed for the estimation of deposition fraction in different region of the lung. However, these deposition fractions vary with the above mentioned parameters in addition to the modeling and computational technique. Part-I of this review article briefly describes the deposition behaviour of inhaled particulate matter and the currently available