Aerosols can be described as suspensions of solid, liquid, or mixed solid/liquid particles in air. Research has shown that some aerosols have the potential to cause adverse respiratory health effects when inhaled. One possible pathway for assessing pulmonary toxicological outcomes is measuring disruptions related to lung surfactant, i.e., a film secreted by alveolar cells known to play critical roles in lung function and defense. Occupational exposures to aerosols are common, and examples include vehicle exhaust, erosion of engineered materials, and dust from activities such as agriculture or construction. There are few systematic methods available to emulate and investigate lung exposures for these types of particles. We have developed the Aerosol Exposure Surfactometer (AESM), currently in its second generation, for the exposure of aerosols to lung surfactant and cultured cells. Using the device, we measured aerosol size (via optical particle sizer), aerosol mass dose (via quartz crystal microbalance), surface tension (via image analysis), and cell biology endpoints (via cytotoxicity and oxidative stress assays). For comparative analyses, we generated both solid and liquid aerosols of relevant occupational materials; these include solid aerosols of carbonaceous materials (carbon black, carbon nanotubes, diesel particulate matter), metals (aluminum, chromium, lead, nickel), and silica (crystalline and amorphous). Liquid aerosols included methylene chloride, aliphatic diisocyanate, and isopropyl alcohol. Further investigation and improvement of the AESM will yield a high-throughput method for screening potentially harmful aerosols and provide the foundation for predictive models relating to surfactant function and lung cell effects.

Occupational aerosols: Characterization, inhibition of lung surfactant, and cytotoxicity

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ACS Fall 2022

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