Aerosolization

{{short description|Process of converting a substance into an aerosol}}

Aerosolization is the process or act of converting some physical substance into the form of particles small and light enough to be carried on the air i.e. into an aerosol. Aerosolization refers to a process of intentionally oxidatively converting and suspending particles or a composition in a moving stream of air for the purpose of delivering the oxidized particles or composition to a particular location.{{cite web|url=https://patents.justia.com/inventor/kelly-k-houston|title=Kelly K. Houston Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search|work=patents.justia.com}}

Aerosolization is also an important concept of air pollution whereby particulate matter is formed and evaded into the atmosphere. Gas-phase substances reach the atmosphere by volatilization, whereas solid and liquid-phase particles can reach the atmosphere by aerosolization. This is a mechanism by which semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) like halogenated and organphosphate pesticides become air pollutants {{cite book | vauthors = Vallero DA |title=Fundamentals of Air Pollution |date=2025 |publisher=Elsevier Science |location=Waltham, MA |isbn=978-0443314469|edition=6th}}.

The term is often used in medicine to refer specifically to the production of airborne particles (e.g. tiny liquid droplets) containing infectious virus or bacteria. The infectious organism is said to be aerosolized. This can occur when an infected individual coughs,{{Cite journal | last1 = Tang | first1 = J. W. | last2 = Settles | first2 = G. S. | doi = 10.1056/NEJMicm072576 | title = Coughing and Aerosols | journal = New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 359 | issue = 15 | pages = e19 | year = 2008 | pmid = 18843121| doi-access = free }} sneezes{{cite journal|url=http://www.sgm.ac.uk/pubs/micro_today/pdf/110503.pdf |title=Microbe-laden aerosols |format=PDF 217 KB |journal=Microbiology Today |issue=November 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014074854/http://www.sgm.ac.uk/pubs/micro_today/pdf/110503.pdf |archive-date=2007-10-14 }} exhales,{{Cite journal | last1 = Johnson | first1 = G. R. | last2 = Morawska | first2 = L. | doi = 10.1089/jamp.2008.0720 | title = The Mechanism of Breath Aerosol Formation | journal = Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery | volume = 22 | issue = 3 | pages = 229–237 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19415984| citeseerx = 10.1.1.651.7875 }} or vomits,{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/hcp/clinical-overview.html |title=Norovirus, Clinical Overview |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)|date=2018-12-21 }} but can also arise from flushing a toilet,{{Cite journal | last1 = Best | first1 = E. L. | last2 = Sandoe | first2 = J. A. T. | last3 = Wilcox | first3 = M. H. | doi = 10.1016/j.jhin.2011.08.010 | title = Potential for aerosolization of Clostridium difficile after flushing toilets: The role of toilet lids in reducing environmental contamination risk | journal = Journal of Hospital Infection | volume = 80 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–5 | year = 2012 | pmid = 22137761 }} or disturbing dried contaminated feces.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/noframes/HPS_WhatYouNeedToKnow.pdf |format=PDF 1.4 MB |title=Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS): What You Need To Know |publisher=CDC|date=2018-02-12 }}

Treatment of some respiratory diseases relies on aerosolization of a liquid medication using a nebulizer, which is then breathed in for direct transport to the lungs.

In the context of chemical and biological weapons, aerosolization is a means of dispersing a chemical or biological agent in an attack. See for example "Botulinum Toxin as a Biological Weapon".{{cite web |url=http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/botulism/biofacts/botulism_bioweap.html |title=Botulinum Toxin as a Biological Weapon |publisher=Center For Infectious Disease Research & Policy |access-date=2012-05-02 |archive-date=2013-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506190320/http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/botulism/biofacts/botulism_bioweap.html |url-status=dead }}

Dustiness is the tendency of finely divided solids to generate aerosols from an external stimulus and can be quantified or measured.{{Cite web |last=The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health |date=February 2024 |title=Quantification of Airborne Dusts From Powders |url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nmam/pdf/Chapter-AD.pdf |access-date=9 July 2024}}