Forte R, Dibble C
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1999 Dec;104(6):S217-20. doi: 10.1016/s0091-6749(99)70033-3.
Introduced in the 1950s, metered dose inhalers (MDIs) became a revolutionary way to deliver medication directly to the lungs of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Since their initial introduction, MDIs have used chlorofluorocarbons to propel the medication out of the canister into a patient's lungs. This article presents an overview of the global transition away from the use of chlorofluorocarbon propellants in MDIs to non-ozone-depleting substitutes including hydrofluoroalkane (outside of the pharmaceutical industry and in the context of Montreal Protocol and Kyoto Protocol discussions, these gases are referred to as hydrofluorocarbons; hydrofluoroalkane-134a, for example, is referred to as hydrofluorocarbon-134a) propellants, in accordance with the terms of the international environmental agreement the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer (the Montreal Protocol). This article will also describe the environmental characteristics of chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluoroalkanes when they are used as MDI propellants. Finally, the article will review key provisions of the pending Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the Kyoto Protocol) that may affect the future of hydrofluoroalkanes.
计量吸入器（MDIs）于20世纪50年代问世，成为将药物直接输送到哮喘和慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者肺部的一种革命性方式。自首次推出以来，计量吸入器一直使用氯氟烃将药物从药罐中喷出并送入患者肺部。本文概述了全球范围内计量吸入器从使用氯氟烃推进剂向包括氢氟烷烃（在制药行业之外且在《蒙特利尔议定书》和《京都议定书》讨论的背景下，这些气体被称为氢氟碳化物；例如，氢氟烷烃-134a被称为氢氟碳化物-134a）在内的无臭氧消耗替代品的转变情况，这是根据国际环境协定《关于消耗臭氧层物质的蒙特利尔议定书》（《蒙特利尔议定书》）的条款进行的。本文还将描述氯氟烃和氢氟烷烃用作计量吸入器推进剂时的环境特性。最后，本文将审视《联合国气候变化框架公约》（《京都议定书》）待定的《京都议定书》中可能影响氢氟烷烃未来的关键条款。
