Yuezhi (August) Li , Ananya Benegal , Joseph V. Puthussery , Shu-Wen You , Michael D. Vahey , Rajan K. Chakrabarty
{"title":"Comparing the impacts of aerosolization and sampling techniques on the structural integrity and antigenicity retention of influenza A virus-like particles","authors":"Yuezhi (August) Li , Ananya Benegal , Joseph V. Puthussery , Shu-Wen You , Michael D. Vahey , Rajan K. Chakrabarty","doi":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106673","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106673","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Laboratory experiments studying respiratory virus aerosols rely on the reproducibility of aerosolization and sampling techniques. Conventional techniques could compromise viral structure and antigenicity, particularly for pleomorphic viruses like influenza A (IAV), yet very little information is available on this issue. Here, we evaluate three aerosolization methods: Collison, Blaustein Atomization Modules (BLAM), and jet nebulizers, and three bioaerosol samplers: liquid spot sampler (LSS), wet cyclone, and SKC BioSampler, to determine their efficiency in retaining the structural stability and antigenicity of filamentous IAV virus-like particles (VLPs). VLPs provide a safe and practical alternative for studying highly pathogenic airborne viruses. The BLAM and jet nebulizers maintain 12–21 % of filamentous structures, whereas the Collison nebulizer, which generates higher shear stress, reduces filament recovery to ∼10 %. The liquid spot sampler (LSS), owing to gentle condensation-based sampling technique, retains approximately 30 % of filamentous VLPs. The SKC BioSampler and wet cyclone sampler cause greater structural disruption due to higher shear stress and impaction forces and retain ∼10 % and ∼7 % of filamentous VLPs, respectively. Higher relative humidity (85 %) improves filament retention by ∼20 % compared to dry conditions (25 % RH). The antigenicity of Neuraminidase (NA), the IAV surface protein responsible for viral release, followed a bimodal distribution, with up to 20 % of small VLPs showing undetectable NA signal post-aerosolization, indicating greater susceptibility to structural degradation. These results point to the necessity of improving upon contemporary aerosolization and sampling strategies to characterize airborne filamentous viruses in controlled laboratory environments more accurately.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14880,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aerosol Science","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 106673"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145048092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kabir Rishi , Orthodoxia Zervaki , Bon-Ki Ku , Nicholas Pugh , Chen Wang , Vasileia Vogiazi , Pramod Kulkarni
{"title":"Investigation of particle size-related artifacts in analyte quantification of particulate samples using infrared spectroscopy methods","authors":"Kabir Rishi , Orthodoxia Zervaki , Bon-Ki Ku , Nicholas Pugh , Chen Wang , Vasileia Vogiazi , Pramod Kulkarni","doi":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106669","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106669","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Infrared absorption spectroscopy is commonly used to quantify chemicals in the particulate phase for environmental and occupational aerosol exposure measurements. Unlike gas-phase analyte quantification, the analytical figures of merit depend on the characteristics of the particulate phase, in particular the aerosol size distribution. In the Mie scattering regime, where the particle size is comparable to the incident infrared wavelength, the bias in analyte quantification can depend on particle size. This error may depend on how well the size distribution of the aerosol matches with that of the reference material used to calibrate the method. While the impact of packing densities, and spectral interferences from the substrate and other minerals in the aerosol has been assessed in previous work, the impact of aerosol size distribution has not been explored. In this work, the Lorenz-Mie solution to Maxwell's equation was used to determine the bias in mass quantification of quartz in typical occupational aerosols for which the IR method is commonly used. Our experimental findings were benchmarked with the Lorenz-Mie solution using model spherical polystyrene particles. Practical deviations due to the asymmetric shape of quartz particles size-fractionated using different cascade impactors are presented and compared with literature studies on quartz aerosols. The expected bias in analyte quantification using different quartz standard reference materials relative to NIST SRM 1878a was assessed. The implications on quartz quantification due to differences in aerosol size distribution at different locations in the coal mine, granite quarries, and during construction activities such as stone finishing and grinding are presented and discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14880,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aerosol Science","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 106669"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145048627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Technical note: Prediction of bacterial aerosol concentration via absorbance measurement of bacterial suspension in atomizer: Staphylococcus aureus as an example","authors":"Dongmin Shin, Jungho Hwang","doi":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106674","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106674","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Airborne bacteria affect indoor air quality and pose health risks. To develop airborne bacterial samplers and detection devices, aerosol experiments should first be conducted using an atomizer in the laboratory to determine the bacterial concentration in an actual indoor air environment. For example, the concentration of <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> in indoor air has been reported to be 10<sup>1</sup>–10<sup>3</sup> colony-forming units (CFUs) per 1 m<sup>3</sup> of air. The bacterial aerosol concentration generated using an atomizer depends on the concentration of the liquid suspension containing bacterial particles inside the atomizer. Moreover, such low concentrations of airborne bacteria require the precise control of the suspension concentration. In addition, traditional methods of measuring bioaerosol concentrations depend on culture-based techniques, which only measure a portion of the total microbial community and have the drawback of being slow, often taking one to several days to complete. This study proposes a predictive methodology for estimating airborne bacterial concentration (CFUs/m<sup>3</sup>) based on the absorbance measurement of a bacterial suspension in an atomizer using UV/VIS spectroscopy. This methodology involves establishing a correlation curve by preparing different concentrations of bacterial suspensions, measuring their absorbances, aerosolizing each suspension using an atomizer, and sampling airborne bacteria for CFU enumeration. With the obtained correlation curve, simply measuring the absorbance of a certain bacterial suspension can yield the CFU concentration of bacteria in the air without repeatedly performing time-consuming experiments. <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> was used as an example species, and the R<sup>2</sup> between the CFU concentrations in air and the absorbances of the suspensions was 0.9976.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14880,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aerosol Science","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106674"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144896518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Design and characterization of a modular tunable ring electrode aerosol charge conditioner","authors":"Markus D. Petters , Sanghee Han , Sunandan Mahant","doi":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106670","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106670","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A tunable ring electrode aerosol charge conditioner is introduced. Bipolar ions are created by means of radioactive decay. The device creates a stream of unipolar ions by separating positive and negative ions using an axial electric field with electric field strengths up to 2 kV cm<sup>−1</sup>. Varying the electric field strength enables changing the charge conditioner output from bipolar (<em>V</em> = 0) to unipolar for positively charged particles (<em>V</em> > 0) or negatively charged (<em>V</em> < 0). The steady-state ion field and aerosol charge distributions are predicted using a numerical model. Charge conditioner performance is characterized using tandem differential mobility analyzer measurements. Results show that the mean charge per particle increases approximately logarithmically with the applied DC voltage. There is good agreement between model-predicted and observed charge distributions over a wide range of DC voltages and particle sizes. The design is open hardware providing an adaptable platform that can be used as a starting point to modify the charge conditioner design to optimize performance for specific applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14880,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aerosol Science","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106670"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144907994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antoine Guette , Zeeshan Ahmed , Ruicong Xu , Avadhesh Kumar Sharma , Ravinder Kumar , Ryo Yokoyama , Shuichiro Miwa , Shunichi Suzuki , Koji Okamoto
{"title":"An optimized current-controlled electrostatic charging water system for enhanced aerosol removal in Fukushima decommissioning","authors":"Antoine Guette , Zeeshan Ahmed , Ruicong Xu , Avadhesh Kumar Sharma , Ravinder Kumar , Ryo Yokoyama , Shuichiro Miwa , Shunichi Suzuki , Koji Okamoto","doi":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106671","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106671","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors generates submicron radioactive aerosol particles (0.1–1 μm) during fuel debris cutting, necessitating efficient removal to ensure safety. Previous studies show that conventional aerosol removal systems relying on short-range van der Waals forces are less efficient than charged sprays. In these systems, droplets carry net charges (typically 0.1–1 mC/kg) whose polarity can attract neutral or oppositely charged particles via long-range Coulombic forces. Removal efficiency depends on droplet charge magnitude and polarity, as well as particle properties such as size, conductivity, and pre-existing charge. Submicron particles (<1 μm) are influenced by induced-dipole interactions, while larger particles (>1 μm) undergo Coulombic acceleration toward highly charged droplets. Building on these advancements, this study introduces a novel constant current charging system, integrated with the Jacob's Ladder concept, to improve aerosol scavenging performance. Experiments conducted in the UTARTS (University of Tokyo Aerosol Removal Test with Sprays) facility systematically evaluate the efficacy of the constant current setup compared to previous constant voltage systems, alongside the effects of water properties, such as conductivity, pH, and salinity, on removal efficiency. Additionally, the impact of optimized electrode placement within the spray system on enhancing the electric field and particle capture was investigated. Results demonstrate that the constant current system provides superior aerosol removal efficiency, attributed to stable particle charging and intensified electrostatic interactions. Notably, the placement of two copper wires within the water spray direction further enhanced removal efficiency by intensifying the electric field around the aerosol particles. Furthermore, increasing salinity while maintaining constant pH decreases removal efficiency by lowering system resistance, resulting in faster electron movement and inadequate droplet charging. The novel constant current charging spray system demonstrates improved aerosol removal efficiency, offering a significant advancement in aerosol removal strategies for nuclear decommissioning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14880,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aerosol Science","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106671"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144896667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Aerosol discharge velocity and particle size characteristics of a low powered e-cigarette by phase Doppler anemometer","authors":"Mohammad Shajid Rahman, Tarik Kaya, Edgar Matida","doi":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106672","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106672","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, may have become a tool to improve smoking cessation due to their ability to provide nicotine at a selected rate. However, caution still needs to be taken when using e-cigarettes due to the presence of addictive nicotine and harmful substances, produced from the heating process of aerosolization. The aerosol particle size distribution (PSD) and associated velocities generated by e-cigarettes have significant influence on aerosol deposition in different regions of human respiratory tracts. Due to the importance regarding inhalation risk reduction, deeper understanding of particle velocity and size characteristics of e-cigarettes demands thorough investigation. However, comprehensive study on PSD and velocity of e-cigarettes with a standard testing condition at relatively low heating powers (e.g., power <10 W), which are beneficial considering a reduced emission of toxic chemicals, is still lacking. On another note, while different dilution methods can mislead the comparison and assessment of device performances, data about particle size and velocity of undiluted e-cigarette aerosols are scarce. The present study aims to measure particle number count and size distribution of undiluted aerosols of a latest fourth-generation e-cigarette at a low power of 2.5 W. Temporal and spatial growth of particle velocity and size distribution of an aerosol flow are examined using a phase Doppler anemometry (PDA) technique. To the authors’ best knowledge, application of PDA in e-cigarette aerosol measurement is rarely reported. Velocity measurement revealed a time duration of optimum heating operation for the atomizer. The centerline mean velocity decay of the aerosol discharge suggested a limited mixing and entrainment characteristic compared to a typical air/water jet due to the presence of aerosol particles in the flow region. The particle interactions and collisions in the aerosol flow field possibly increased the centerline turbulence intensity level compared to a canonical free laminar jet. The particle size measurement depicted a continuous increase in particle diameters during a puff period due to potential volatility of e-liquid, and vigorous aerosolization and particle coagulation processes. Spatial evolution of arithmetic mean diameter, count median diameter, and geometric standard deviation of aerosol discharge along the flow centerline and transverse direction are reported. Based on these results, moisture absorption of hygroscopic aerosols, particle evaporation, and particle size re-distribution phenomena are explained as the flow propagated downstream. This present study makes an important contribution to the advancement and optimization of aerosol-generating devices. Also, this study has potential implications in PSD simulation and validation of aerosol dosimetry models.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14880,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aerosol Science","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106672"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144896507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A review of soot formation and evolution in turbulent swirling flames","authors":"Jinbo Cheng , Yihao Tang , Wang Han , Lijun Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106667","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106667","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Many practical combustion systems, such as aviation engines, stationary gas turbines, diesel engines, etc., rely on turbulent swirl flames to operate efficiently and reliably. One of the primary concerns in developing these combustion systems is the reduction of particulate matter (i.e., soot) emissions. This is due to the fact that soot emissions have adverse effects on human health and the environment. In this context, mitigating soot emissions from these combustion systems requires a comprehensive understanding of the physicochemical pathways from fuel to soot particles in turbulent, swirling flames. Moreover, fundamental studies of soot emissions in turbulent swirling flames can help elucidate the processes of soot formation and evolution in complex reacting flows. In this work, we intend to provide a comprehensive review of soot formation and evolution in turbulent swirling flames. First, the physicochemical processes involved in soot formation and evolution are introduced, including the formation of gas-phase soot precursors, soot nucleation, coagulation and condensation, surface growth, and oxidation and fragmentation. These processes are discussed in the context of the features of soot formation and evolution in turbulent swirling flames. A detailed review is then made of the experimental measurements and diagnostic methods related to soot. Through the classification of the burner configurations, a comprehensive review of the experimental progress of sooting swirl flames is given. The parameter studies, including pressure, equivalence ratio, and thermal power, among others, are summarized, resulting in a detailed overview. Subsequently, numerical simulation methodologies of sooting swirl flames are introduced, including the numerical construction of chemical kinetics, turbulent combustion, and soot models. A comprehensive review of numerical studies is made in terms of burner configurations, modeling methods, and mechanism analysis. This review concludes by summarizing the challenges faced in turbulent swirl flames and anticipating future research on soot.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14880,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aerosol Science","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106667"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144896508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Li Lv , Yixun Lu , Junchao Xu , Xing Wu , Guangze Li , Longfei Chen
{"title":"Microscopic visualization of heterogeneous nucleation of water vapor on convex and concave particles","authors":"Li Lv , Yixun Lu , Junchao Xu , Xing Wu , Guangze Li , Longfei Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106668","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106668","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Heterogeneous nucleation of water vapor on fine particles affects droplet formation in key processes such as atmospheric physics, gas purification, crystallization, and particle measurement. Understanding and predicting the preferential nucleation sites on microscale particles, especially those with complex geometries such as convex and concave surfaces, remains a major challenge. In this work, the nucleation process on convex spherical particles is first visualized. Particle gap, i.e. particle concavity, will preferentially nucleate. A planar gap model is constructed to explain the reason why convex particles are more prone to nucleate at the gap compared to the particle surface. The influences of the gap angle and the contact angle on nucleation are analyzed. The smaller the gap angle, the smaller the contact angle, and the lower the nucleation energy barrier, making nucleation more likely to occur. Compared to using fractal theory to only obtain the nucleation energy barriers, this model can be used to predict the preferential nucleation sites of micrometer sized convex spherical particles.</div><div>Importantly, to address the issue of whether all concavity will preferentially nucleate, the nucleation on micron-sized concave spherical particles is then visualized. And the nucleation energy barriers of concave cavities and particle surfaces with and without considering line tension are analyzed. It is found that when the particle radius and cavity radius are large, their energy barriers are almost the same. Water vapor is more likely to nucleate simultaneously inside the cavity and on the particle surface. When the particle radius and cavity radius are small, considering the line tension, the energy barrier inside the cavity is greater than that on the particle. Contrary to what is believed, water vapor is more likely to nucleate on the particle rather than in the cavity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14880,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aerosol Science","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106668"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144842222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The role of particle collisions in enhancing resuspension","authors":"M.C. Villagrán Olivares, R.O. Uñac, A.M. Vidales, J.G. Benito","doi":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106666","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106666","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The resuspension of fine particles from surfaces exposed to airflow is a phenomenon of great relevance in various scientific and engineering contexts. While traditional models often focus on single-particle detachment driven by aerodynamic forces overcoming adhesion, recent studies have highlighted the significant role of particle–particle interactions, especially in systems with moderate to high surface concentrations. In this work, we develop a Monte Carlo numerical model to investigate the role of collisions as an additional mechanism for particle detachment. The model introduces a probabilistic rule for inter-particle collisions based on particle surface concentration and collision force effect. A parametric study is performed to evaluate how particle surface concentration, particle size, flow velocity, collision efficiency (<span><math><mrow><mi>ε</mi></mrow></math></span>) and the number of multiple particle impacts influence the resuspension rates. The results show that at low concentrations, collisions are negligible, and resuspension is governed by direct aerodynamic detachment. However, as the surface becomes more populated, collisions increasingly contribute to particle removal, especially when the velocity and size of moving particles allow sufficient momentum transfer. The efficiency parameter <span><math><mrow><mi>ε</mi></mrow></math></span> controls the fraction of successful detachments upon impact, and even modest values lead to noticeable increases in collisional contributions to resuspension rates. The model also captures the non-linear behavior of resuspension curves and reproduces key experimental trends reported in the literature. Comparisons with experimental data from other authors show that incorporating collisions significantly improves the prediction of resuspension rates at higher deposition densities. In particular, the introduction of multiple particle impacts is crucial to match the sharp increase in detachment observed experimentally. These findings underscore the importance of including particle–particle interactions in theoretical models and suggest that even in relatively dilute regimes, collisions can enhance detachment under appropriate flow conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14880,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aerosol Science","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106666"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144864174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ignacio R. Bartol , Martin S. Graffigna Palomba , Robert J. Dawson , Wesley E. Bolch , Mauricio E. Tano , Shaheen A. Dewji
{"title":"Subject-specific modeling framework for particle deposition using computational fluid dynamics","authors":"Ignacio R. Bartol , Martin S. Graffigna Palomba , Robert J. Dawson , Wesley E. Bolch , Mauricio E. Tano , Shaheen A. Dewji","doi":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106660","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaerosci.2025.106660","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Quantifying particle deposition and dose in the respiratory tract requires a physiologically realistic representation and reproducible computational workflows. However, existing modeling frameworks, such as the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) compartmental models and the Multiple Path Particle Dosimetry (MPPD) tool, lack detailed deposition profiles and subject-specific capabilities. The combination of advances in computer vision algorithms applied to the respiratory tract and Computational Fluid and Particle Dynamics (CFPD) allows high-fidelity simulations of particle behavior in anatomically accurate geometries derived from individual CT scans. The segmentation, preprocessing, and file preparation task for a CFPD simulation was often time-consuming, and no prior studies to-date have yet presented a fully automated framework.</div><div>This work presents a fully automated workflow to obtain individualized particle deposition profiles in the human respiratory tract. The pipeline starts with segmenting upper and lower airway geometries using morphological and deep learning-based methods, generating three-dimensional (3D) models from CT imaging data. Next, a series of algorithms are presented to quality check and prepare the 3D geometry for a CFD or CFPD simulation. The preprocessing step includes correcting geometric artifacts, enforcing a physically consistent mesh, and automatically identifying and capping multiple outlets, which is required for CFD/CFPD simulations. These processed models are then input into open-source (OpenFOAM) or commercial (StarCCM+) CFD solvers, where flow and transient particle transport equations — including turbulence and particle–wall interactions are solved under realistic breathing conditions. Finally, the resulting particle deposition profiles can be integrated with Monte Carlo radiation transport codes and state-of-the-art computational phantoms to assess organ-specific absorbed doses in scenarios of radioactive aerosol inhalation.</div><div>The presented work streamlines respiratory tract segmentation, preprocessing for CFD/CFPD simulations, and integration with dose assessment workflows, reducing manual intervention and improving access to high-fidelity, subject-specific modeling. The high precision in predicted particle deposition and dose distributions can improve personalized treatment strategies in respiratory medicine and refine dose estimates for radiation protection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14880,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aerosol Science","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106660"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144861152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}