The location of particle deposition in rat extra-thoracic airways

PRAVEEN SRIRAMA (1), Chris Wallis (1), Anthony Wexler (1)

(1) University of California, Davis

     Abstract Number: 277
     Last modified: May 3, 2010

Abstract
Laboratory animals are widely used as models for exploring the health effects caused by inhalation exposure to particulate matter despite concerns that particles deposit in animal airways quite differently than in human ones. Since the location of particle deposition determines subsequent clearance and transport to other tissues, mapping particle deposition throughout the airways in laboratory animals is crucial to understanding the health effects that they cause, but such mapping has yet to be performed because methods are not available for measuring the detailed location of particles. Modeling and simulation may be vulnerable to incorrect assumptions about particle movement, clearance, and air flow within the airways when predicting where particles will deposit. Mapping of actual deposition from inhalation exposure provides higher confidence in the results than theoretical modeling by removing possible sources of error. In this paper, we will present the results of measuring the location of fluorescent particle deposition in the rat extra-thoracic airways after inhalation, along with their location in reconstructed complete nasal airways.