Nebulized sodium bicarbonate solution as mucolytic alternative treatment for cystic fibrosis

CESCHAN, NAZARETH ELIANA; ALONSO, AGUSTINA; RAMIREZ RIGO, MARÍA VERÓNICA; GALLO, LOREANA

Virtual

Congreso; 6ta Reunión Internacional de Ciencias Farmacéuticas (RICiFa 2020+1); 2021

Universidad Nacional de Córdoba y Universidad Nacional de Rosario

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease caused by a malfunction of chloride channels. This dysfunction produces dehydration of respiratory system mucus layers, leading to mucus sticky consistency that difficult ciliary clearance. Inhalatory administration of sodium bicarbonate (SB) as a nebulization could make mucous secretions thinner and re-establish the pH of pulmonary fluid. However, no SB commercial formulations are available and there is no information regarding optimal mucolytic concentration, stability, and aerosolization behaviour. The aim of this work was to study the stability and mucolytic and aerodynamic properties of SB solutions. For that, BS was dissolved at 4 and 8% (w/v) in saline solution. The resulting pH was around 8, value well tolerated by respiratory mucosa, and did not change over time. The mucolitic activity was evaluated by determining the viscosity of mucine solutions with and without SB. The viscosity of mucine with SB showed lower significant values than pure mucine. Aerodynamic properties of the 8% (w/v) SB solution were determined using a jet-nebulizer and a cascade impactor. The mass median aerodinamic diameter was around 3.17 µm, adequate for inhalatory treatments, also aerodynamic distribution was narrow. In conclusion, SB solutions demonstrated to possessed stability, mucolytic and aerodynamic properties adequate for the proposed application.