Data from: Numerical simulations of targeted delivery of magnetic drug aerosols in the human upper and central respiratory system: a validation study

In the present study, we investigate the concept of the targeted delivery of pharmaceutical drug aerosols in an anatomically realistic geometry of the human upper and central respiratory system. The geometry considered extends from the mouth inlet to the 8th generation of the bronchial bifurcations and is identical to the phantom model used in the experimental studies of [Banko {em et al.} (2015), Exp. Fluids, {bf 56} (117):1-12]. In our computer simulations, we combine the transitional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and the wall-resolved Large Eddy Simulation (LES) methods for the air phase with the Lagrangian approach for the particulate (aerosol) phase. We validated simulations against recently obtained magnetic resonance velocimetry (MRV) measurements of [Banko {em et al.} (2015), Exp. Fluids, {bf 56} (117):1-12] that provide full a 3D mean velocity field for steady inspiratory conditions. Both approaches produced good agreement with experiments, and the transitional RANS approach is selected for the multi-phase simulations of aerosols transport, because of significantly lower computational costs. The local and total deposition efficiency are calculated for different classes of pharmaceutical particles (in the $0.1mu$m$le d_{rm p} le 10mu$m range) without and with a paramagnetic core (the shell-core particles). For the latter, an external magnetic field is imposed. The source of the imposed magnetic field was placed in the proximity of the first bronchial bifurcation. We demonstrated that both total- and local-depositions of aerosols at targeted locations can be significantly increased by an applied magnetization force. This finding confirms the possible potential for further advancement of the magnetic drug targeting (MDT) technique for more efficient treatments for respiratory diseases.

本研究针对人类上及中央呼吸系统的解剖学真实几何模型，探究药用药物气溶胶的靶向递送机制。该几何模型从口腔入口延伸至第8代支气管分叉，与[Banko等人(2015), Exp. Fluids, 56(117):1-12]的实验研究所使用的体模完全一致。在本次计算机模拟中，我们将用于气相的过渡型雷诺平均纳维-斯托克斯（Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes, RANS）方法与壁面解析大涡模拟（Large Eddy Simulation, LES）方法，与用于颗粒（气溶胶）相的拉格朗日方法相结合。我们以[Banko等人(2015), Exp. Fluids, 56(117):1-12]中最新的磁共振测速（Magnetic Resonance Velocimetry, MRV）测量结果作为模拟验证基准，该测量提供了稳态吸气条件下完整的三维平均速度场。两种模拟方法均与实验结果吻合良好，而过渡型RANS方法因计算成本显著更低，被选用于气溶胶输运的多相模拟。我们针对粒径范围为$0.1mu ext{m} leq d_p leq 10mu ext{m}$的不同类别药用颗粒，分别计算了无顺磁核与带有顺磁核的核壳颗粒的局部与总沉积效率。对于后者，我们施加了外部磁场，磁场源被置于第一支气管分叉附近。研究表明，通过施加磁化力，可显著提升靶向位置的气溶胶总沉积量与局部沉积量。这一发现证实了磁靶向给药（Magnetic Drug Targeting, MDT）技术在提升呼吸系统疾病治疗效率方面的进一步发展潜力。