Oxidative Potential Associated with Urban Aerosol Deposited into the Respiratory System and Relevant Elemental and Ionic Fraction Contributions

Maurizio Manigrasso,Giulia Simonetti,Silvia Canepari,Cinzia Perrino,Carmela Protano,Pasquale Avino,Maria Luisa Astolfi,Arianna Antonucci,Matteo Vitali

doi:10.3390/atmos11010006

Abstract

Size-segregated aerosol measurements were carried out at an urban and at an industrial site. Soluble and insoluble fractions of elements and inorganic ions were determined. Oxidative potential (OP) was assessed on the soluble fraction of Particulate Matter (PM) by ascorbic acid (AA), dichlorofluorescein (DCFH) and dithiothreitol (DTT) assays. Size resolved elemental, ion and OP doses in the head (H), tracheobronchial (TB) and alveolar (Al) regions were estimated using the Multiple-Path Particle Dosimetry (MPPD) model. The total aerosol respiratory doses due to brake and soil resuspension emissions were higher at the urban than at the industrial site. On the contrary, the doses of anthropic combustion tracers were generally higher at the industrial site. In general, the insoluble fraction was more abundantly distributed in the coarse than in the fine mode and vice versa for the soluble fraction. Consequently, for the latter, the percent of the total respiratory dose deposited in TB and Al regions increased. Oxidative potential assay (OPAA) doses were distributed in the coarse region; therefore, their major contribution was in the H region. The contribution in the TB and Al regions increased for OPDTT and OPDCFH.

Highlights

Particulate matter (PM) is a well-known risk factor for human health, involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular [1], respiratory [2] and neurodegerative diseases [3]
The contributions of the different emission sources were addressed referring to tracer components for each of them: 1) Insoluble fraction of Cu and Sb, due to brake pads contribution, were used to trace non-combustive traffic emissions
The Oxidative Potential (OP) of the PM soluble fractions had been assessed by ascorbic acid (AA), DTT and DCFH assays

Summary

Introduction

Particulate matter (PM) is a well-known risk factor for human health, involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular [1], respiratory [2] and neurodegerative diseases [3]. Exposure to PM during pregnancy has been associated with adverse outcomes for intrauterine development such as low birth weight, preterm birth and small for gestational age births [4]. Despite the great number of the negative effects on human health associated with. PM-related diseases development; in particular, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) seem to play a central role in the etiopathogenesis of the diseases, due to their unbalanced excess that causes oxidative stress, resulting in injury to cells and tissues in the respiratory tract [6].

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