Optimization of a Newly Developed Chamber Setup for Spatial Dust Measurements in the Context of Containment

Background/Objectives: A specially designed chamber setup for containment investigations of pharmaceutical dusts was recently developed. The aim of the present study was to optimize the measurement procedure with this chamber setup, focusing on the atomization parameters. The optimization was aimed at a maximization of the amount of detected dust and a minimization of the required sample mass. Methods: For this purpose, the safe surrogate substance acetaminophen was used for dust measurements. In addition to the atomization parameters investigated by a design of experiments, the cleaning of the chamber setup and the selection of two different types of acetaminophen with different physicochemical properties were examined. Results: By altering the cleaning method of the chamber setup, more than a tenfold increase of detected acetaminophen was observed. In addition, by selecting the more appropriate acetaminophen type, the totally detected acetaminophen amount was further increased by more than 25%. By means of the design of experiments two models were developed, one dealing with the atomization parameters with regard to the atomization effectiveness and the other describing their influence on the spatial dust distribution of acetaminophen. Based on the model for atomization effectiveness, the totally detected acetaminophen amount may be increased by more than double at a constant sample mass. Conclusions: In summary, the measurement procedure of the chamber setup was optimized in terms of the cleaning method, surrogate choice, and the adjustment of the atomization parameters, giving valuable insights to deepen our understanding of dustiness and the spatial distribution of dust in the context of containment.