Aerosol sprays

Aerosol sprays consist of a material dissolved or suspended in a liquid which when pressure is released volatilizes to produce a fine spray. The spray carries the active material. Used in hair lacquers, paints, etc. the propellant should be inert and non-inflammable. Chlorofluorocarbons have been used extensively but are now being replaced. 

As a first stage, the stream of liquid from an HPLC eluant is passed through a narrow tube toward the LINC interface. Near the end of the tube, the liquid stream is injected with helium gas so that it leaves the end of the tube as a high-velocity spray of small drops of liquid mixed with helium. From there, the mixture enters an evacuation chamber (Figure 12.1). The formation of spray (nebulizing) is very similar to that occurring in the action of aerosol spray cans (see Chapter 19). 

The term nebulizer is used generally as a description for any spraying device, such as the hair spray mentioned above. It is normally applied to any means of forming an aerosol spray in which a volume of liquid is broken into a mist of vapor and small droplets and possibly even solid matter. There is a variety of nebulizer designs for transporting a solution of analyte in droplet form to a plasma torch in ICP/MS and to the inlet/ionization sources used in electrospray and mass spectrometry (ES/MS) and atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization and mass spectrometry (APCI/MS). 

Nebulizers are used to introduce analyte solutions as an aerosol spray into a mass spectrometer. For use with plasma torches, it is necessary to produce a fine spray and to remove as much solvent as possible before the aerosol reaches the flame of the torch. Various designs of nebulizer are available, but most work on the principle of interacting gas and liquid streams or the use of ultrasonic devices to cause droplet formation. For nebulization applications in thermospray, APCI, and electrospray, see Chapters 8 and 11. 

A stream of liquid issuing from a narrow tube can be broken up into a spray of small droplets by injecting helium gas just before the end of the tube. This nebulization is analogous to the action of an aerosol spray-can nozzle. 

Sprays. Aerosol spray emulsions are of the water-in-oil type. The preferred propellant is a hydrocarbon or mixed hydrocarbon—hydrofluorocarbon. About 25 to 30% propellent, miscible with the oil, remains in the external phase of the emulsion. When this system is dispensed, the propellant vaporizes, leaving behind droplets of the w/o emulsion (Fig. 2b). A vapor tap valve, which tends to produce finely dispersed particles, is employed. Because the propellant and the product concentrate tend to separate on standing, products formulated using this system, such as pesticides and room deodorants, must be shaken before use. 

Compressed Ga.s PropeIIa.nts. The compressed gas propellants, so named because they are gaseous in conventional aerosol containers, are nontoxic, nonflammable, low in cost, and very inert. When used in aerosols, however, the pressure in the container drops as the contents are depleted. Although the problem is lessened when the contents are materials in which the propellant is somewhat soluble, this pressure drop may cause changes in the rate and characteristics of the aerosol spray. A compressed gas aerosol system is illustrated in Figure 3. 

Piperonyl butoxide [51-03-6] is 5-[2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethoxy]methyl-6-propyl-l,3-benzodioxole (11) d 1.04—1.07, vp 0.13 kPa at 25°C). The rat oral LD qS are 7500, 6150 mg/kg. Piperonyl butoxide is the synergist commonly used with natural pyrethrins in aerosol sprays. 

The NF and reagent grades are employed in the pharmaceutical industry which makes use of benzyl alcohol s local anesthetic, antiseptic, and solvent properties (17—20). It also finds use in cough symps and drops ophthalmic solutions bum, dental (21), and insect repeUant solutions and ointments and dermatological aerosol sprays. It is used in nail lacquers and as a color developer in hair dyes by the cosmetics industry (22), and in acne treatment preparations (23). 

Enzyme manufacturers have developed formulations that minimize the release of enzyme dust. In the case of Hquid preparations, handling precautions recommend users to avoid the formation of aerosol sprays. In all cases, direct contact with the skin or eyes should be avoided. Enzymes have a good record of occupational health and safety. 

It should be noted that prior to 1987, total CFC emissions were made up from aerosol sprays, solvents and foam insulation, and that refrigerant emissions were about 10% of the total. However, all the different users have replaced CFCs with alternatives. 

Topical corticosteroids vary in potency, depending on tiie concentration of the drug (percentage), the vehicle in which the drug is suspended (lotion, cream, aerosol spray), and the area to which the drug is applied (open or denuded skin, unbroken skin, thickness of the skin over tiie treated area). 

Do not use an aerosol spray when smoking, or near any other source of ignition, e.g. an electric fire, hot-plate etc. 

You have undoubtedly used one of the common products of modem society, the aerosol spray can. We use these handy containers to deliver fine mists of many useful products. Do you need to keep your hair in place Use an aerosol spray can to apply mousse. Do you want to get rid of unpleasant room odors Spray the air with an aerosol air freshener. Has the paint worn off your favorite outdoor chair Touch it up using an aerosol paint can. These are just three of the many products that can be delivered using aerosol sprays. 

Aerosol spray cans were invented in 1929, and perfection of a reliable valve and development of disposable cans took place in the 1940s. Shortly thereafter, aerosol became a household word. Like many other modem conveniences, however, the aerosol spray can has drawbacks as well as advantages. Because the particles in an aerosol are extremely tiny, they are quite mobile. They last for a long time in the atmosphere and can affect the climate, as already described. They can penetrate deep into our lungs and cause adverse health effects. Thus, anthropogenic aerosols have both global and local side effects. Despite increasing scientific studies, these effects are not yet fttlly understood. 

For non-volatile sample molecules, other ionisation methods must be used, namely desorption/ionisation (DI) and nebulisation ionisation methods. In DI, the unifying aspect is the rapid addition of energy into a condensed-phase sample, with subsequent generation and release of ions into the mass analyser. In El and Cl, the processes of volatilisation and ionisation are distinct and separable in DI, they are intimately associated. In nebulisation ionisation, such as ESP or TSP, an aerosol spray is used at some stage to separate sample molecules and/or ions from the solvent liquid that carries them into the source of the mass spectrometer. Less volatile but thermally stable compounds can be thermally vaporised in the direct inlet probe (DIP) situated close to the ionising molecular beam. This DIP is standard equipment on most instruments an El spectrum results. Techniques that extend the utility of mass spectrometry to the least volatile and more labile organic molecules include FD, EHD, surface ionisation (SIMS, FAB) and matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALD) as the last... 

Seth Cagin and Philip Dray. Between Earth and Sky How CFCs Changed Our World and Endangered the Ozone Layer. New York Pantheon Books, 1993. Source for aerosol sprays and Midgley. 

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