Aerosol science for orally inhaled and nasal drug products
We measure how individual particles behave under airway conditions and model the formulation design space on those measurements, so you can identify the formulations capable of meeting your target product profile before committing laboratory time.
The formulation design space
An inhaled or nasal formulation has more variables than any laboratory can cover: material properties, particle size distribution, and the temperature and humidity the aerosol meets in the airway. We map that space in silico from measured particle physics, so you can identify the candidates capable of meeting your target product profile before committing laboratory time.
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 before laboratory time is committed, 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. We do not offer analytical testing or manufacture. Our work is delivered under the Microsol name, and co-branding is welcome.
Device makers.
We measure how candidate formulations behave once aerosolised, under airway conditions, giving device teams realistic formulation data to work with.
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.
Single-particle measurement
The physics is measured, not inferred
Our instruments hold a single droplet or particle in place and record its behaviour directly, at temperatures and humidities set to match the airway rather than the laboratory. Evaporation, composition change, morphology and dissolution are observed across timescales from microseconds to several days in the same experiment, using very little material.
This data is the foundation our simulations are built on: the measurement came first, and the models were built on top of it.
Published and presented
Our measurements and models are presented at the conferences where inhaled delivery science is discussed, and published with the organisations we work alongside.
- Evaporation of low global warming potential propellants. Single-droplet measurements that resolve HFA 134a, HFA 152a and HFO 1234ze with microsecond time resolution. Co-authored with scientists from Nanopharm, Aptar Pharma, the US Food and Drug Administration and Theela Life Sciences. Drug Delivery to the Lungs, 2024.
- Beyond fine particle fraction. Next generation impactor data from four inhaler types coupled to an in silico lung deposition model, with Copley Scientific. Drug Delivery to the Lungs, 2024.
- In silico tools for inhaled drug development. Respiratory Drug Delivery, 2026, and Inhalation magazine, February 2026.
Capabilities
Single-particle insight
Data on how each droplet or particle evolves under airway temperature and humidity, alongside the whole-aerosol picture from your standard methods.
Rapid processes and long-term changes
Fast evaporation over microseconds and slow solid-state change, captured in a single experiment from very little material. Useful when an active ingredient is scarce or expensive.
Simulation matched to your format
Engines built for the delivery format you are developing: aqueous systems, pressurised metered dose inhalers and dry powders, plus a pulmonary model for regional deposition. A formulation change can be followed from the particle through to the delivered dose.
Inhaled and nasal formats
Dry powder, pressurised metered dose, soft mist, nebulised, nasal sprays and inhaled biologics, including reformulation for low global warming potential propellants.
How we work with you
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.
Why Microsol
What reaches the lung is decided by how the particle changes between the device and the airway. We bring single-particle measurement, simulation and formulation expertise together to study that change.
