Abstract
Aims/Purpose: This study investigates the potential of tear fluid analysis as a non‐invasive method to monitor air pollution impact on an exposed body tissue, represented by the ocular surface [1,2]. In particular, we characterized the particulate matter (PM) in tears in healthy volunteers exposed or not to an urban environment.Methods: Twenty healthy volunteers were enrolled from personnel staff, ten were exposed to urban traffic in Bologna, Italy in the period January‐April 2024 for a minimum of 2 hours, and ten were not. A minimum of 5 μL tear were sampled from the lower conjunctival sac, deposited onto glass slides or polycarbonate filters, allowed to dry and stored at room temperature in a sterile Petri dishes, until observation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Zeiss) was employed to analyze and characterize the PM present in the samples. Particles were categorized by size, morphology, and elemental composition using energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS). PM analysis and characterization in tears was compared to filters obtained for gravimetric analysis of airborne PM collected via filtration in Milan.Results: SEM analysis revealed predominantly fine particles (PM2.5), with occasional larger ones (PM10). Elemental analysis identified common PM pollutants such as carbon, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, and trace metals like iron and calcium. The particle count per unit area (15 eV, 400x) showed a range of densities across different samples, with a difference in PM levels between exposed and non exposed subjects.Conclusions: The study demonstrated that SEM analysis of tear samples is a viable method for detecting PM levels in tears, and a notable difference between exposed and non exposed subjects. This highlights the potential role of tear analysis in monitoring environmental pollution. This non‐invasive approach could be pivotal in understanding the impact of air pollution on the ocular surface.References M.A. Gutiérrez, D Giuliani, A.A. Porta, D. Andrinolo D, J Ophthalmic Vis Res 2019, 14(4), 419‐427. O. Girshevitz, N. Cohen‐Sinai, A. Zahavi, Y. Vardizer, D. Fixler, N. Goldenberg‐Cohen, J. Pers. Med. 2022, 12, 1633.
Published Version
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