Black and white image of fine powder particles on the left giving way to spherical droplets drifting to the right, against a dark background.

Aerosol science for orally inhaled and nasal drug products

Our simulations map the formulation design space and our instruments measure what the simulations predict under physiologically relevant conditions, each improving the other, so you can identify the formulations worth taking to the bench.

The platform

An inhaled or nasal formulation has more variables than any laboratory can cover, so the design space has to be explored in silico. We connect simulation and measurement in one loop: the lab trains the simulations, and the simulations direct the lab.

Simulation.

Physics-based engines for aqueous droplets, propellants and dry powders, with a lung deposition model, map the design space in hours and show where the promising formulations sit.

Measurement.

Our instruments measure individual droplets and particles under physiologically relevant conditions, recording evaporation, phase and composition from microseconds to days. Each measurement uses about 10 µL of material, against 0.1 to 1 mL for a solution nebuliser study.

Interpretation.

Our aerosol and formulation experts work alongside your team, designing each exploration with you and interpreting the results in the context of your programme, so your decisions rest on the clearest evidence available.

Simulation without measurement is unvalidated, and measurement without simulation does not scale. The advantage is the two connected.

Who we help

Biotechs.

For teams taking a molecule into inhaled or nasal delivery, we provide the measurement and aerosol physics behind formulation decisions, with a written rationale for the approach chosen.

Pharma.

For innovator and generic programmes, we help narrow formulation options early and explain results that do not behave as expected.

CROs and CDMOs.

We add single-particle measurement and aerosol modelling to the programmes you run, working alongside your team, so you can give your clients a deeper understanding of how their formulations behave.

Device makers.

We measure how candidate formulations behave once aerosolised, under physiologically relevant conditions, so device and formulation can be developed together, accelerating development and improving the likelihood of success.

Applications

Two areas where the underlying physics matters most: the stability of a biologic through aerosolisation and drying, and the reformulation work created by the move to low global warming potential propellants.

Case studies

Two studies presented at Drug Delivery to the Lungs 2024 show the platform applied to questions formulation teams face now.

Pressurised metered dose inhalers. With Nanopharm, Aptar Pharma, the US Food and Drug Administration and Theela Life Sciences.

Propellant evaporation for the low global warming potential transition

We measured the evaporation of single HFA 134a, HFA 152a and HFO 1234ze droplets with microsecond time resolution. HFO 1234ze evaporated about four times faster than HFA 134a and twice as fast as HFA 152a, and water condensing from humid air extended droplet lifetimes from milliseconds to around a second. Both effects bear directly on in vitro performance when a product moves to a new propellant.

Read the abstract

Four inhaler types. With Copley Scientific.

Regional deposition beyond fine particle fraction

We coupled published next generation impactor data for a metered dose inhaler, a dry powder inhaler, a soft mist inhaler and a nebuliser to an in silico lung deposition model. The metered dose and soft mist inhalers had almost the same fine particle fraction, 31 and 33 per cent, yet their total lung deposition differed by about 20 per cent, with different regional patterns. A single metric could not have told them apart.

See the paper

Our work is also published in Respiratory Drug Delivery 2026 and in Inhalation magazine.

See all publications and presentations

How we work with you

We work with you in the way that suits your programme.

Standard measurements.

Single-particle measurements with a fixed scope, so you know before the work starts what will be measured and what you will receive: the data, and a written report on what it means for your programme.

Bespoke support.

For a question that a standard measurement will not answer, we design the exploration around your formulation, run it with our own instruments and simulation engines, and return the data with a written interpretation and what we would do next.

A technology partner.

For a longer programme, we work alongside your team from pre-formulation onwards, alongside your existing analytical, regulatory and manufacturing partners.

Where we fit in a programmeEarly screening, benchtop and preclinical, transfer to manufacture, clinical translation.

Early screening.

Before a candidate is selected, when nothing is committed and the value of narrowing the space is greatest.

Benchtop and preclinical.

Choosing which experiments are worth running, and explaining results that do not behave as expected.

Transfer to manufacture.

Establishing which process and formulation parameters matter most, and how far each can move before performance changes.

Clinical translation.

Regional deposition and delivered dose, estimated from the formulation’s measured behaviour.

Our team

Aerosol scientists and engineers, supported by a board and advisors from across life science companies, inhaled products and aerosol research.

Meet the team, board and advisors

Earlier data. Clearer decisions. Less risk.

Tell us what you are formulating and we will tell you whether we can help.