Interaction of pulmonary surfactant with silica and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Implications for respiratory health

Abstract

Understanding the interaction between pulmonary surfactant (PS) and inhalable pollutants is vital for risk assessment of respiratory health. Here, PS extracted from porcine lung (EPS) was used to investigate the interaction of PS with nano-silica particles and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Our results demonstrated that silica significantly affected the phase behavior and foaming ability of EPS; EPS and its major components (dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, DPPC; bovine serum albumin, BSA) exhibited great enhancing effect on PAHs solubility, which follows the order: EPS > DPPC > BSA, and it was positively correlated with the hydrophobicity of PAHs. Further experiments demonstrated that mixed phospholipids of EPS were largely responsible for the solubilization of EPS on PAHs. In the presence of EPS, DPPC or BSA, adsorption of PAHs by silica was notably inhibited, indicating competitive adsorption between PAHs and PS components on silica. These findings provide evidence for the surface chemistry by which PS facilitates the solubilization of PAHs and reducing the adsorption of PAHs on silica, which may be helpful for deeply understanding the effects of particulate matter and PAHs on lung health.