Filament Extension Atomizer: Novel Aerosol Generation from Viscous Fluids and Applications in Biotechnology

PARC, A Xerox Company is developing a novel approach to aerosol generation from high viscosity fluids called Filament Extension Atomization (FEA). The method is specifically suited for spraying highly viscoelastic, strain hardening fluids such polymers and biomacromolecules which are often difficult to spray using conventional methods that are viscosity-limited. The FEA approach employs the intrinsic elastocapillary instability in these strain hardening fluids to generate narrowly-dispersed micron-sized droplets of the fluid that can used for various applications. FEA can generate spray from a wide range of fluids with viscosities ranging from 1mPa-s up to 600 Pa-s and higher. In this contribution, we will highlight its potential applications in biotechnology, specifically in the controlled aerosol delivery of bioactives and in particle creation from viscous formulations.