title: Liquid and surfactant delivery into pulmonary airways.
abstract: We describe the mechanisms by which liquids and surfactants can be delivered into the pulmonary airways. These are instilled and transported throughout the lung in clinical therapies such as surfactant replacement therapy, partial liquid ventilation and drug delivery. The success of these treatments is contingent on the liquid distribution and the delivery to targeted regions of the lung. The targeting of a liquid plug can be influenced by a variety of factors such as the physical properties of the liquid, the interfacial activity, the gravitational orientation, instillation method and propagation speed. We provide a review of experimental and theoretical studies that examine these effects in single tubes or channels, in tubes with single bifurcations and in the whole lung.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA. dhalpern@as.ua.edu
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Halpern
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujioka
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.forename: James B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Grotberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000378:metabolism*; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants