College of Public Health

Aerosols Research Laboratory

INTRODUCTION

The Aerosols Research Laboratory was established in 1991 to support health and environmental research involving airborne particles. Located in the College of Public Health on the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus in Oklahoma City, the laboratory serves as the focal point for interdisciplinary research projects in pharmaceutics (aerosol drug delivery), aerobiology (infectious and allergenic bioaerosols), toxicology (inhalation exposure systems development), and environmental health (air sampler design and evaluation, and exposure assessment).

FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

Aerosol Generation

Aerosols of known composition may be generated from pure liquids, solutions, suspensions, or dry powders using nebulizers, vibrating orifice monodisperse aerosol generators, spinning disk monodisperse aerosol generators, or dry powder dispersers.

Aerodynamic particle size distributions may be measured in real time or size fractioned for both size and chemical characterization.

Complex aerosols may also be size fractioned by spiral duct aerosol centrifugation, a capability not generally available in other laboratories.

Pharmaceutical aerosols may be generated using medical nebulizers, metered dose inhalers, and dry powder inhalers.

Sub-micron particles in liquid suspension may be sized by photon correlation spectroscopy.

PERSONNEL

Research faculty of the Aerosols Research Laboratory include David L. Johnson, Ph.D., PE, CIH, Thomas Hall, Ph.D., CIH, Margaret L. Phillips, Ph.D., CIH., Rodney E. Clinkenbeard, Ph.D., and James L. Regens, PhD.

CURRENT AND RECENT RESEARCH

Effects of Sampling Errors on Aerosol Characterization

Investigation of the effects of sampling and analytical errors on the characterization of aerosol size distributions.

Associated Publications:

Clinkenbeard, R.E., E.C. England, D.L. Johnson, N.A. Esmen, and T.A. Hall. "Comparison of the IOM Inhalable Aerosol Sampler and a Modified 37-mm Cassette During Aircraft Corrosion Control Maintenance", Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 17(9):622-627 (2002).

Esmen, N.A., D.L. Johnson, and G.M. Agron, "The Variability of Delivered Dose of Aerosols with the Same Respirable Concentration but Different Size Distributions,' Annals of Occupational Hygiene 46:401-407 (2002).

Esmen, N.A. and D.L. Johnson, "Simulation Analysis of Inhalable Dust Sampling Errors Using a Multi-Component Error Model," Aerosol Science and Technology 35:824-828 (2001).

Esmen, N.A., "Multicomponent Error Model for Mass Measurement Based Size Fractionating Aerosol Samplers," Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 15:72-79 (2000).

Esmen, N.A. and T.A. Hall, "Theoretical Investigation of the Interrelationship Between Stationary and Personal Sampling in Exposure Estimation," Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 15:114-119 (2000).

Johnson, D.L. and N.A. Esmen, "Simulation Analysis of Inhalable Dust Sampling Errors Using a Multi-component Error Model." In: Proceedings of the 1999 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, Toronto, Canada, June 5-11, Abstract No. 301, pg. 61 (1999).

Day, G.A., N.A. Esmen, and T.A. Hall, "Sample Size-Based Indication of Normality in Log-Normally Distributed Populations," Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 14:376-383 (1999).

Deposition and Toxicity of Inhaled Aerosols

Studies of the deposition and acute and chronic health effects of inhaled aerosol particles.

Associated Publications:

Johnson, D.L. and N.A. Esmen, "Method Induced Misclassification for a Respirable Dust Sampled Using ISO/ACGIH/CEN Criteria," Annals of Occupational Hygiene 48(1):13-20, 2004.

Esmen, N.A., D.L. Johnson, and G.M. Agron, "The Variability of Delivered Dose of Aerosols with the Same Respirable Concentration but Different Size Distributions," Annals of Occupational Hygiene 46:401-407 (2002).

Fechter, L.D., D.L. Johnson, and R.A. Lynch. "The Relationship of Particle Size to Olfactory Nerve Uptake of a Non-Soluble Form of Manganese into Brain", NeuroToxicology 23:177-184 (2002).

Clinkenbeard, R.E., D.L. Johnson, R. Parthasarathy, C. Altan, K.H. Tan, R.H. Crawford, and S.M. Park. "Replication of Human Tracheobronchial Hollow Airway Models Using a Selective Laser Sintering Rapid Prototyping Technique," American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal 63(2):141-150 (2002).

Generation, Sampling, and Characterization of Bioaerosols

Investigation of the effects of generation and sampling methods on the hygroscopic growth behavior, aerodynamic properties, and culturability of bioaerosols, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacilli.

Associated Publications:

Mead, Kenneth and David L. Johnson, "An Evaluation of Portable HEPA Filtration for Expedient Patient Isolation in Epidemic and Emergency Response", in press for publication in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Stone, R.C. and D.L. Johnson, "The Effect of Nebulization Time and Pressure on the Culturability of Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens Bacteria," Aerosol Science and Technology 36:536-539 (2002).

Johnson, D.L. and M.L. Phillips, "UV Disinfection of Soluble Oil Metalworking Fluids," American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal 63(2):178-183 (2002).

Johnson, D.L. and T.A. Pearce, "Differences in Hygroscopic Growth Potential for Aerosolized Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens as a Function of Colony Age," in Proceedings of the 1999 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, Toronto, Canada, June 5-11, 1999.

Johnson, D.L., T.A. Pearce, and N.A. Esmen, "The Effect of Phosphate Buffer on Aerosol Size Distribution of Nebulized Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens Bacteria," Aerosol Science and Technology 30(2):202-210 (1999).

Johnson, D.L. and T.A. Pearce, "Efficiency of a Low-Energy Wetted-Surface Multi-Annulus Denuder Sampler for Viable and Non-Viable Aerosol Collection," Aerosol Science and Technology 28(3):269-279 (1998).

Aerosol-Related Occupational and Environmental Exposure Studies

Exposure assessment and epidemiological studies related to occupational and environmental exposures to potentially hazardous aerosols.

Associated Publications:

Carlton, Gary N., Kalpesh B. Patel, David L. Johnson, and Thomas A. Hall. "The Effectiveness of Hand-Held Ventilated Sanders in Reducing Inhalable Dust Concentrations," Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 18(1):51-56 (2003).

Phillips, M.L., C.C. Meagher, and D.L. Johnson. "What is 'Powder-Free?': Characterization of Powder Aerosol Produced During Simulated Use of Powdered and Powder-Free Latex Gloves," Occupational and Environmental Medicine 58:479-481 (2001).

Tutt, R., M. Phillips, T. Hall, N. Esmen, and D. Johnson, "Evaluating Emissions from Outdoor Asbestos Abatement Activities in an Idled Petroleum Refinery," in: Proceedings of the 2000 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, Orlando, Florida, May 22-26, Abstract No. 83, pg. 17 (2000).

Sherwood, P., D.L. Johnson, T.A. Hall, and R.A. Lynch, "Evaluation of Worker Lead Exposures During Rotary Brush Cleaning of Fume Hood Ductwork in a Petroleum Research Laboratory." In: Proceedings of the 2000 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, Orlando, Florida, May 22-26, Abstract No. 116, pg. 24 (2000).

Meagher, C., M.L. Phillips, and D.L. Johnson, "Characterization of Aerosol Generated During Use of Powdered and 'Powder-Free' Disposable Latex Gloves." In: Proceedings of the 2000 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, Orlando, Florida, May 22-26, Abstract No. 129, pg. 26 (2000).

Phillips, M.L. and N.A. Esmen, "Computational Method for Ranking Task-Specific Exposures using Multi-Task Time-Weighted-Average Samples," Annals of Occupational Hygiene 43:201-213 (1999).

Esmen, N.A. and M. Corn, "Airborne Fiber Concentrations in the Splitting and Boxing of Bags of Asbestos," Toxicology and Industrial Health 14:843-856 (1998).

Esmen, N.A., "The Costs of Imprecision: Perspectives in Asbestos Abatement," Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 643:582-588 (1991).

Optimization of Therapeutic Liposome and Lipid Microtubule Aerosols

Investigation of the influence of lipid composition and aerosolization method on the structure, aerodynamic behavior, and hydrophilic drug retention of therapeutic liposome and lipid microtubule aerosols.

Associated Publications:

Johnson, D.L., N.A. Esmen, K.D. Carlson, T.A. Pearce, and B.N. Thomas, "Aerodynamic Behavior of Lipid Microtubule Aerosols," Journal of Aerosol Science 31(2):181-188 (2000).

Johnson, D.L., K.D. Carlson, T.A. Pearce, N.A. Esmen, and B.N. Thomas, "Effects of Nebulization Time and Pressure on Lipid Microtubule Suspension and Aerosol," Aerosol Science and Technology 30(2):211-222 (1999).

Polikandritou-Lambros, M., D.A.W. Borne, S.A. Abbas, and D.L. Johnson, "Lung Clearance Kinetics of Inhaled Liposomal Amphotericin B Aerosol in Balb/C Mice," Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 86(9):1066-1069 (1997).

Johnson, D.L., M. Polikandritou-Lambros, and T.B. Martonen, "Drug Encapsulation and Aerodynamic Behavior of a Lipid Microtubule Aerosol," Drug Delivery 3(1): 9-15 (1996).

Johnson, D.L., E.N. Wenger and M. Polikandritou-Lambros, "Aerosolization and Hygroscopic Growth Evaluation of Lyophilized Liposome Aerosols Under Controlled Temperature and Relative Humidity Conditions," Aerosol Science and Technology, 25(1): 22-30 (1996).

Johnson, D.L., N.A. Esmen and M. Polikandritou-Lambros, "Spinning Disk Aerosol Generators as a Low Energy Alternative to Medical Air-Jet Nebulizers: Theory and Experiment," Journal of Aerosols in Medicine, 9 (2): 249-261 (1996).

Wenger, E. N., D.L. Johnson, and M. Polikandritou, "Hygroscopic Growth of Lyophilized Liposomal Aerosols," Pharmaceutical Research, 11:S212 (1994).

Development and Evaluation of a Low Energy Aerosol Sampling System

Design and evaluation of a low-energy aerosol/bioaerosol wet sampler based on the annular denuder principle, directed to the collection of fragile therapeutic aerosols and bioaerosols with minimal collector-related damage.

Associated Publications:

Johnson, D.L. and T.A. Pearce, " Variation in Bioaerosol Sampling Efficiency with Flowrate for a Denuder-Based Low Energy Sampler," in: Proceedings of the 15th Annual Conference of the American Association for Aerosol Research, Orlando, Florida, October 14-18, 1996.

Johnson, D.L. and T.A. Pearce, "Assessment of a Newly Developed Bioaerosol Sampler," In: Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the American Association for Aerosol Research, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 9-13, 1995.

Pearce, T. and D.L. Johnson, "Design and Evaluation of a Low-Energy Bioaerosol Sampler," In: Proceedings of the Fourth International Aerosols Conference, Los Angeles, California, August 29 - September 2, 1994.

Aerodynamic Behavior of Fibrous and Platelet Aerosol Particles

Numerical modeling with experimental verification of the rotational and sedimentation aerodynamic behavior of fiber-like aerosol particles, including engineered medicinal aerosol particles, with application to particle deposition on conducting airway walls.

Associated Publications:

Johnson, D.L., N.A. Esmen, K.D. Carlson, T.A. Pearce, and B.N. Thomas, "Aerodynamic Behavior of Lipid Microtubule Aerosols," Journal of Aerosol Science 31(2):181-188 (2000).

Esmen, N.A., "Diffusion and Sedimentation of 0.01 and 0.1 Micron Diameter Fibers," in: Proceedings of the 1997 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, May 17-23 (1997).

Esmen, N.A., "The Adhesion and Aerodynamic Resuspension of Fibrous Particles from Flat Surfaces," Journal of Environmental Engineering 122: 379-383 (1996).

Erdal, S. and Esmen, N. A., "Human Head Model as an Aerosol Sampler: Calculation of Aspiration Efficiencies For Coarse Particles Using An Idealized Human Model Facing The Wind," Journal of Aerosol Science 26: 253-272 (1995).

Johnson, D.L. and T.B. Martonen, "The Behavior of Inhaled Fibers: Applications to Medicinal Aerosols," Particulate Science and Technology 12 (2): 161-173 (1994).

Johnson, D.L. and T.B. Martonen, "Predicted and Observed Behavior of Platelet Aerosols," Particulate Science and Technology 12 (2): 149-159 (1994).

Johnson, D.L. and T.B. Martonen, "Fiber Deposition Along Airway Walls: Effects of Fiber Cross-Section on Rotational Interception," Journal of Aerosol Science 24 (4): 525-536 (1993).

Esmen, N. A. and Erdal, S., "The Size of Fibrous Aerosols," Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 6: 764-772 (1991).

Automatic Feedback Control of Test Atmospheres

Design and development of a computerized automatic feedback control system providing precise regulation of test atmospheres, with initial work focusing on vapor atmospheres and current work on aerosol atmospheres.

Associated Publications:

Johnson, D.L. and L.D. Fechter, "Performance of an Automatic Feedback Control Vapor Generation System During Near-Continuous Inhalation Exposures," Inhalation Toxicology 8(4) :423-431 (1996).

Johnson, D.L., E.G. Hagstrom, and L.D. Fechter, "Automatic Feedback Control of a Vapor Generation System Using Off-the-Shelf Components," Inhalation Toxicology 7(9): 1293-1303 (1995).

Occupational Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke

Characterization of nightclub musician exposures to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), with attention to both gas phase and aerosol phase pollutants.

Associated Publications:

Bergman, T.A., D.L. Johnson, D.T. Boatright, K.G. Smallwood, and R.J. Rando, "Occupational Exposure of Nonsmoking Nightclub Musicians to Environmental Tobacco Smoke," American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal 57: 746-752 (1996).

Particulate Air Pollution

Examination of the dispersion and health effects of ambient particulate pollution.

Associated Publications:

Phillips, M.L., T.A. Hall, N.A. Esmen, R.A. Lynch, and D.L. Johnson. "Use of Global Positioning System Technology to Track Subjects' Location During Environmental Exposure Sampling," Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 11:207-215 (2002).

Phillips, M.L., N.A. Esmen, D. Wang, and T.A. Hall. "Temporal and Spatial Variation in Monitoring of Urban Air Pollutants," in Fate and Transport of Chemicals in the Environment: Impacts, Monitoring, and Remediation (R.L. Lipnick, R.P. Mason, M.L. Phillips, and C.U. Pittman, Eds.). American Chemical Society Monograph, 2001.

Esmen, N.A., T.A. Hall, D.L. Johnson, R.A. Lynch, M.L. Phillips, D. Wang, and R. Clinkenbeard. "PM10 and PM2.5 Correlation in Two Medium Size Metropolitan Areas," in Proceedings of the 2000 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, Orlando, Florida, May 22-26, Abstract No. 14, pg. 4 (2000).

Tutt, R., M. Phillips, T. Hall, N. Esmen, and D. Johnson. "Evaluating Emissions from Outdoor Asbestos Abatement Activities in an Idled Petroleum Refinery," in Proceedings of the 2000 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, Orlando, Florida, May 22-26, Abstract No. 83, pg. 17 (2000).

Moolgavakar, S., E.G. Leubeck, T.A. Hall, and E. L. Anderson, "Particulate Air Pollution and Mortality," Letter, Epidemiology, 7(2):212-214 (1996).

Moolgavkar, S., E.G. Lcubeck, T.A. Hall, and E.L. Anderson, E. L., "Particulate Air Pollution, Sulfur Dioxide and Daily Mortality: A Reanalysis of the Steubenville Data," Inhalation Toxicology (1995).

Moolgavkar, S., E.G. Leubeck, T.A. Hall, and E. L. Anderson, "Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in Philadelphia," Epidemiology, 6(5):476-484 (1995).

Lamm, S.H., T.A. Hall, A. Engel, L.D. White, and F.H. Ructer, "PM 10 Particulates: Are They the Major Determinant in Pediatric Respiratory Admissions in Utah County, Utah (1985-1989)?" Ann. Occup. Hyg., 38:969-972 (1994).

Lamm, S. H., T.A. Hall, and J.S. Kutchcr, "Particulate Exposure Among Cadmium Workers: Is the Risk Due to Cigarette, Cadmium or Arsenic Particulates?" Ann. Occup. Hyg., 38:979-982 (1994).

Villnave, J. M., M. Corn, M. Francis, T.A. Hall, "Regulatory Implications of Airborne Respirable Free Silica Variability in Underground Coal Mines," American Industrial Hygiene Journal (April 1991).

Esmen, N.A. and S. Erdal, "Human Occupational And Nonoccupational Exposure to Fibers," Env. Health Perspectives, 88:261-268 (1990).