Effect of humidity on the adsorption kinetics of lung surfactant at air-water interfaces

The in vitro adsorption kinetics of lung surfactant at air-water interfaces is affected by both the composition of the surfactant preparations and the conditions under which the assessment is conducted. Relevant experimental conditions are surfactant concentration, temperature, subphase pH, electrolyte concentration, humidity, and gas composition of the atmosphere exposed to the interface. The effect of humidity on the adsorption kinetics of a therapeutic lung surfactant preparation, bovine lipid extract surfactant (BLES), was studied by measuring the dynamic surface tension (DST). Axisymmetric drop shape analysis (ADSA) was used in conjunction with three different experimental methodologies, i.e., captive bubble (CB), pendant drop (PD), and constrained sessile drop (CSD), to measure the DST. The experimental results obtained from these three methodologies show that for 100% relative humidity (RH) at 37 degrees C the rate of adsorption of BLES at an air-water interface is substantially slower than for low humidity. It is also found that there is a difference in the rate of surface tension decrease measured from the PD and CB/CSD methods. These experimental results agree well with an adsorption model that considers the combined effects of entropic force, electrostatic interaction, and gravity. These findings have implications for the development and evaluation of new formulations for surfactant replacement therapy.