Streamline crossing: An essential mechanism for aerosol dispersion in the pulmonary acinus.

ABSTRACT: The dispersion of inhaled microparticles in the pulmonary acinus of the lungs is often attributed to the complex interplay between convective mixing, due to irreversible flows, and intrinsic particle motion (i.e. gravity and diffusion). However, the role of each mechanism, the exact nature of such interplay between them and their relative importance still remain unclear. To gain insight into these dispersive mechanisms, we track liquid-suspended microparticles and extract their effective diffusivities inside an anatomically-inspired microfluidic acinar model. Such results are then compared to experiments and numerical simulations in a straight channel. While alveoli of the proximal acinar generations exhibit convective mixing characteristics that lead to irreversible particle trajectories,

SUBMITTER: Fishler R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5198889 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature