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Zanelli D, Candotto Carniel F, Fortuna L, Pavoni E, Jehová González V, Vázquez E, Prato M, Tretiach M. Is airborne graphene oxide a possible hazard for the sexual reproduction of wind-pollinated plants? Sci Total Environ 2022; 830:154625. [PMID: 35306080 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Products containing graphene-related materials (GRMs) are becoming increasingly common, allowing GRM nanoparticles (NPs) to enter the environment during their life cycle. Thanks to their lightness and bidimensional geometry, GRM NPs can be easily dispersed in the air and travel very long distances. The flowers of wind-pollinated plants may be exposed to airborne GRMs, being apt to intercept pollen from the air and, inevitably, other airborne particles. Here, stigmas of four wind-pollinated plants (Corylus avellana, common hazel; Juglans regia, walnut; Quercus ilex, holm oak; Zea mays, maize) were exposed to airborne graphene oxide (GO) and GO purified from production residues (PGO) at a concentration of 3.7 ng m-3. Subsequently, the stigmas were pollinated and the adhesion of GOs and their effects on stigma integrity and pollen-stigma interaction were examined. The effect of GO NPs in presence of liquid water on the stigma of C. avellana was also investigated. GOs NPs were intercepted by all species, but their effect varied among them. GO reduced pollen adhesion in J. regia and Q. ilex, whereas pollen germination was unaffected in all four species. The presence of a film of water neither completely removed GO NPs from the stigma, nor it enhanced the toxic effect of GO acidity. PGO never affected pollen-stigma interaction, indicating that the phytotoxic substances used for the production of GO, still in traces in commercial GO, are the main cause of GO toxicity. These results reconfirm the need to verify GRMs effects also on key biological processes beside single model organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Zanelli
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Fabio Candotto Carniel
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy; Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy.
| | - Lorenzo Fortuna
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Elena Pavoni
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, I-34128 Trieste, Italy
| | - Viviana Jehová González
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Instituto Regional de Investigación Científica Aplicada (IRICA), University of Castilla-La Mancha, E-13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Ester Vázquez
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Instituto Regional de Investigación Científica Aplicada (IRICA), University of Castilla-La Mancha, E-13071 Ciudad Real, Spain; Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Castilla La Mancha, E-13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Maurizio Prato
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy; Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo de Miramón 194, E-20014 Donostia, San Sebastián, Spain; Basque Foundation for Science (IKERBASQUE), E-48013 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Mauro Tretiach
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy
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Portela NB, Teixeira EC, Agudelo-Castañeda DM, Civeira MDS, Silva LFO, Vigo A, Kumar P. Indoor-outdoor relationships of airborne nanoparticles, BC and VOCs at rural and urban preschools. Environ Pollut 2021; 268:115751. [PMID: 33143974 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Health risks caused by exposure to black carbon (BC) and nanoparticles (NP) are well studied, although no standard currently exists for them worldwide. Exposure to children may lead to serious health effects due to their increased vulnerability and longer time spend inside the classrooms, making it important to assess the factors that affect air quality in preschools. Thus, this work aims to evaluate indoor-outdoor (I/O) relationships of NPs in the 10-420 nm range, BC and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at rural and urban preschools (aged 3-5 years) between May 2016 and July 2017. Factorial analysis was applied to identify the possible emission sources. Prior communalities were estimated by the squared multiple correlations with all other variables. We used the varimax rotation method and the criterion for factor selection was the number of eigenvalues greater than one. Results indicate that BC and NP were 4- and 3.2-times higher in urban outdoor caused by traffic emissions, respectively. Highest concentrations occurred during rush hours and during the pickup time of children. In urban school, BC was directly related to accumulation mode (N49-205), while in the rural area, BC was related to local traffic and particles from pulp industries in the regional background. Nucleation mode (N11-36) was related to traffic emissions in urban school, while in the rural school was related with secondary formation of particles. Mean I/O ratios of BC and NP in the urban (0.54; 0.51) and rural (0.71; 0.91) schools, respectively, suggested that their higher concentrations occurred in outdoors. VOCs were higher indoor in urban (I/O = 1.97) and rural (I/O = 2.22) sites, indicating these pollutants are generated inside, regardless of urban or rural sites. These findings suggest the necessity of improving ventilation and commuting styles to lower the exposure of children to air pollutants in and around school environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Becker Portela
- Postgraduate Program in Remote Sensing, Geosciences Institute, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, 91501-970, Brazil
| | - Elba Calesso Teixeira
- Postgraduate Program in Remote Sensing, Geosciences Institute, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, 91501-970, Brazil
| | - Dayana Milena Agudelo-Castañeda
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad del Norte, Km 5 - Vía Puerto, Barranquilla, Atlántico, 081007, Colombia.
| | - Matheus da Silva Civeira
- Postgraduate Program in Mining, Metallurgic and Material Engineering, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, 91501-970, Brazil
| | - Luís Felipe Oliveira Silva
- Civil and Environmental Department, Universidad De La Costa, Calle 58 #55-66, Barranquilla, Atlántico, 080002, Colombia
| | - Alvaro Vigo
- Department of Statistics, Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, 91501-970, Brazil
| | - Prashant Kumar
- Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom
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Bessa MJ, Brandão F, Viana M, Gomes JF, Monfort E, Cassee FR, Fraga S, Teixeira JP. Nanoparticle exposure and hazard in the ceramic industry: an overview of potential sources, toxicity and health effects. Environ Res 2020; 184:109297. [PMID: 32155489 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 02/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The ceramic industry is an industrial sector of great impact in the global economy that has been benefiting from advances in materials and processing technologies. Ceramic manufacturing has a strong potential for airborne particle formation and emission, namely of ultrafine particles (UFP) and nanoparticles (NP), meaning that workers of those industries are at risk of potential exposure to these particles. At present, little is known on the impact of engineered nanoparticles (ENP) on the environment and human health and no established Occupational Exposure Limits (OEL) or specific regulations to airborne nanoparticles (ANP) exposure exist raising concerns about the possible consequences of such exposure. In this paper, we provide an overview of the current knowledge on occupational exposure to NP in the ceramic industry and their impact on human health. Possible sources and exposure scenarios, a summary of the existing methods for evaluation and monitoring of ANP in the workplace environment and proposed Nano Reference Values (NRV) for different classes of NP are presented. Case studies on occupational exposure to ANP generated at different stages of the ceramic manufacturing process are described. Finally, the toxicological potential of intentional and unintentional ANP that have been identified in the ceramic industry workplace environment is discussed based on the existing evidence from in vitro and in vivo inhalation toxicity studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria João Bessa
- Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
| | - Fátima Brandão
- Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
| | - Mar Viana
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - João F Gomes
- CERENA, Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente/Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal; ISEL - Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
| | - Eliseo Monfort
- Institute of Ceramic Technology (ITC), Universitat Jaume I, 12006, Castellón, Spain.
| | - Flemming R Cassee
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands; Institute for Risk Assessment Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - Sónia Fraga
- Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
| | - João Paulo Teixeira
- Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
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Xing Y, Cui Y, Li Z, Liu Y, Bao D, Su W, Tsai CJ, Tseng CH, Shiue A, Pui DYH, Yang RT. Getting insight into the influence of coexisting airborne nanoparticles on gas adsorption performance over porous materials. J Hazard Mater 2020; 386:121928. [PMID: 31884354 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2019] [Revised: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Adsorption as one of the most important air cleaning methods has been extensively applied during which the coexisting airborne nanoparticles (NPs) with sizes close to adsorbent pore sizes could inevitably influence gas adsorption processes. In this work, the influence of sub-20 nm NPs on toluene adsorption on ZSM-5 zeolites exchanged with different cations (Li+, Na+ and K+) were studied based on gas-and-particle coexisting adsorption/filtration tests. Affinities for both toluene and NPs on adsorbents follow Li-ZSM-5 > Na-ZSM-5 > K-ZSM-5 regarding the orders of charge density, pore size, and internal and external specific surface areas. The toluene adsorption was shown to be impaired by coexisting NPs from perspectives of thermodynamics and kinetics. For Li-ZSM-5, Na-ZSM-5 and K-ZSM-5, significant relative reductions of 10.4 %, 10.5 % and 16.0 % in toluene adsorption capacity at the lower feed concentration, and of 20.3 %, 15.2 % and 2.3 % in mass transfer coefficient at the higher feed concentration were observed, respectively. The influential mechanisms regarding competitiveness between toluene and NPs in interaction with cationic and porous surfaces were accordingly proposed, which are of practical significance for selecting robust adsorbents under realistic harsh air conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Xing
- School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yongkang Cui
- School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Ziyi Li
- School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Yingshu Liu
- School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Danqi Bao
- School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Wei Su
- School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Chuen-Jinn Tsai
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Chao-Heng Tseng
- Institute of Environment Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
| | - Angus Shiue
- Institute of Environment Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
| | - David Y H Pui
- Particle Technology Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 111 Church St., S.E., Minneapolis 55455, USA; School of Science and Engineering, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, China
| | - Ralph T Yang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2136, USA
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Tanda S, Ličbinský R, Hegrová J, Faimon J, Goessler W. Arsenic speciation in aerosols of a respiratory therapeutic cave: A first approach to study arsenicals in ultrafine particles. Sci Total Environ 2019; 651:1839-1848. [PMID: 30317172 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Revised: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Arsenic is ubiquitous in the environment and of special concern due to its varying toxicity depending on the chemical form present. Less is known about arsenic in air, especially about organoarsenicals, their sources and fate. There is also a lack of knowledge regarding arsenic in airborne nanoparticles that are critical for understanding with respect to human health effects due to their size. Here we show results from an arsenic speciation analysis in size-resolved airborne particles with aerodynamic diameters down to 15 nm. Analysis of aerosols from a respiratory therapeutic cave showed temporarily higher concentrations of trimethylarsine oxide than inorganic arsenic and substantial amounts of organoarsenicals, especially in smaller particles. Our method provides guidance for future studies investigating arsenicals in ultrafine particles and their health implications. Furthermore, the method developed can be used to widely monitor particle-bound organoarsenicals to fully understand the importance of As biovolatilization in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Tanda
- University of Graz, Institute of Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry for Health and Environment, Universitaetsplatz 1, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Roman Ličbinský
- Transport Research Centre, Division of Sustainable Transport and Transport Buildings Diagnostics, Líšeňská 33a, 619 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jitka Hegrová
- Transport Research Centre, Division of Sustainable Transport and Transport Buildings Diagnostics, Líšeňská 33a, 619 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Faimon
- Transport Research Centre, Division of Sustainable Transport and Transport Buildings Diagnostics, Líšeňská 33a, 619 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Masaryk University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geological Sciences, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic; Palacký University, Faculty of Science, Department of Geology, 17. Listopadu 1192/12, 771 46 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Walter Goessler
- University of Graz, Institute of Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry for Health and Environment, Universitaetsplatz 1, 8010 Graz, Austria.
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6
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Fonseca AS, Kuijpers E, Kling KI, Levin M, Koivisto AJ, Nielsen SH, Fransman W, Fedutik Y, Jensen KA, Koponen IK. Particle release and control of worker exposure during laboratory-scale synthesis, handling and simulated spills of manufactured nanomaterials in fume hoods. J Nanopart Res 2018; 20:48. [PMID: 29497347 PMCID: PMC5820406 DOI: 10.1007/s11051-018-4136-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 01/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Fume hoods are one of the most common types of equipment applied to reduce the potential of particle exposure in laboratory environments. A number of previous studies have shown particle release during work with nanomaterials under fume hoods. Here, we assessed laboratory workers' inhalation exposure during synthesis and handling of CuO, TiO2 and ZnO in a fume hood. In addition, we tested the capacity of a fume hood to prevent particle release to laboratory air during simulated spillage of different powders (silica fume, zirconia TZ-3Y and TiO2). Airborne particle concentrations were measured in near field, far field, and in the breathing zone of the worker. Handling CuO nanoparticles increased the concentration of small particles (< 58 nm) inside the fume hood (up to 1 × 105 cm-3). Synthesis, handling and packaging of ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles did not result in detectable particle release to the laboratory air. Simulated powder spills showed a systematic increase in the particle concentrations inside the fume hood with increasing amount of material and drop height. Despite powder spills were sometimes observed to eject into the laboratory room, the spill events were rarely associated with notable release of particles from the fume hood. Overall, this study shows that a fume hood generally offers sufficient exposure control during synthesis and handling of nanomaterials. An appropriate fume hood with adequate sash height and face velocity prevents 98.3% of particles release into the surrounding environment. Care should still be made to consider spills and high cleanliness to prevent exposure via resuspension and inadvertent exposure by secondary routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana S. Fonseca
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NRCWE), Lerso Parkallé 105, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Eelco Kuijpers
- TNO, Risk Analysis for Products in Development, Zeist, The Netherlands
| | - Kirsten I. Kling
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NRCWE), Lerso Parkallé 105, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Marcus Levin
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NRCWE), Lerso Parkallé 105, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Antti J. Koivisto
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NRCWE), Lerso Parkallé 105, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Signe H. Nielsen
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NRCWE), Lerso Parkallé 105, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - W. Fransman
- TNO, Risk Analysis for Products in Development, Zeist, The Netherlands
| | - Yijri Fedutik
- PlasmaChem GmbH, Schwarzschildstr 10, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Keld A. Jensen
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NRCWE), Lerso Parkallé 105, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ismo K. Koponen
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NRCWE), Lerso Parkallé 105, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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7
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Vinches L, Hallé S. Resistance of Type 5 chemical protective clothing against nanometric airborne particles: Behavior of seams and zipper. J Occup Environ Hyg 2017; 14:939-946. [PMID: 28825871 DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2017.1368527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In the field of dermal protection, the use of chemical protective clothing (CPC) (including coveralls) are considered as the last barrier against airborne engineered nanomaterials (ENM). In the majority of cases, Type 5 CPC, used against solid particles (ISO 13982-1), perform well against ENM. But in a recent study, a penetration level (PL) of up to 8.5% of polydisperse sodium chloride airborne nanoparticles has been measured. Moreover, in all the previous studies, tests were performed on a sample of protective clothing material without seams or zippers. Thus, the potential for permeation through a zipper or seams has not yet been determined, even though these areas would be privileged entry points for airborne ENM. This work was designed to evaluate the PL of airborne ENM through coveralls and specifically the PL through the seams on different parts of the CPC and the zipper. Eight current models of CPC (Type 5) were selected. The samples were taken from places with and without seams and with a zipper. In some cases, a cover strip can be added to the zipper to enhance its sealing. Polydisperse nanoparticles were generated by nebulization of a sodium chloride solution. A penetration cell was developed to expose the sample to airborne nanometric particles. The NaCl particle concentration in number was measured with an ultrafine particle counter and the PL was defined as the downstream concentration divided by the upstream concentration. The results obtained show that the PL increased significantly in the presence of seams and could reach up to 90% depending on the seam's design. Moreover, this study classifies the different types of seams by their resistance against airborne ENM. As for the penetration of airborne NaCl particles through the zipper, the PL was greatly attenuated by the presence of a cover strip, but only for certain models of coveralls. Finally, the values of the pressure drop were directly linked to the type of seam. All of these conclusions provide recommendations to both manufacturers and users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludwig Vinches
- a Department of Mechanical Engineering , École de Technologie Supérieure , Montreal , Canada
| | - Stéphane Hallé
- a Department of Mechanical Engineering , École de Technologie Supérieure , Montreal , Canada
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Abstract
Conventional industrial processes are emission sources of unintended nanoparticles which are potentially harmful for the environment and human health. The aim of this study is to assess airborne nanoparticle release from aluminum surface treatment processes in various workplaces. Two direct reading instruments, a scanning mobility particle sizer to measure size distribution and a nanoparticle surface area monitoring to measure the surface area of particles deposited in the human lung, were employed to perform area monitoring. The lacquering paint was the process which released the highest concentration of particles from 10-487 nm (7.06 × 106 particles/cm3). The lacquering baths process emitted particles of the largest average size (76.9 nm) and the largest surface area deposited in the human lung (167.4 µm2/cm3). Conversely, the anodizing bath process generated particles of the smallest average size (44.3 nm) and the lowest human lung-deposited surface area (1.2 µm2/cm3). The total number of particles and the surface area can only be fairly correlated for environments in which the surface area presented higher values. The transmission electron microscopy analysis confirmed the presence of aluminum oxide particles of different dimensions near the LB and AB areas and polymeric-based particles near the LP areas. The findings of this study indicated that lacquering and anodizing surface treatments are indeed responsible for the emission of airborne nanoparticles. It also highlights the importance of control strategies as a means of protecting workers' health and environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Santos
- a Department of Mechanical Engineering , CEMUC-Group of Nanomaterials and Microfabrication, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra , Coimbra , Portugal
| | - M T Vieira
- a Department of Mechanical Engineering , CEMUC-Group of Nanomaterials and Microfabrication, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra , Coimbra , Portugal
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Mihai C, Chrisler WB, Xie Y, Hu D, Szymanski CJ, Tolic A, Klein JA, Smith JN, Tarasevich BJ, Orr G. Intracellular accumulation dynamics and fate of zinc ions in alveolar epithelial cells exposed to airborne ZnO nanoparticles at the air-liquid interface. Nanotoxicology 2013; 9:9-22. [PMID: 24289294 DOI: 10.3109/17435390.2013.859319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Airborne nanoparticles (NPs) that enter the respiratory tract are likely to reach the alveolar region. Accumulating observations support a role for zinc oxide (ZnO) NP dissolution in toxicity, but the majority of in-vitro studies were conducted in cells exposed to NPs in growth media, where large doses of dissolved ions are shed into the exposure solution. To determine the precise intracellular accumulation dynamics and fate of zinc ions (Zn(2+)) shed by airborne NPs in the cellular environment, we exposed alveolar epithelial cells to aerosolized NPs at the air-liquid interface (ALI). Using a fluorescent indicator for Zn(2+), together with organelle-specific fluorescent proteins, we quantified Zn(2+) in single cells and organelles over time. We found that at the ALI, intracellular Zn(2+) values peaked 3 h post exposure and decayed to normal values by 12 h, while in submerged cultures, intracellular Zn(2+) values continued to increase over time. The lowest toxic NP dose at the ALI generated peak intracellular Zn(2+) values that were nearly three-folds lower than the peak values generated by the lowest toxic dose of NPs in submerged cultures, and eight-folds lower than the peak values generated by the lowest toxic dose of ZnSO4 or Zn(2+). At the ALI, the majority of intracellular Zn(2+) was found in endosomes and lysosomes as early as 1 h post exposure. In contrast, the majority of intracellular Zn(2+) following exposures to ZnSO4 was found in other larger vesicles, with less than 10% in endosomes and lysosomes. Together, our observations indicate that low but critical levels of intracellular Zn(2+) have to be reached, concentrated specifically in endosomes and lysosomes, for toxicity to occur, and point to the focal dissolution of the NPs in the cellular environment and the accumulation of the ions specifically in endosomes and lysosomes as the processes underlying the potent toxicity of airborne ZnO NPs.
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