American Association for Aerosol Research - Abstract Submission

AAAR 35th Annual Conference
October 17 - October 21, 2016
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA

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Analysis of Optical Properties of Nitrated Proteins Potentially Relevant to the Atmosphere

BENJAMIN E. SWANSON, Kyle Pierce, Amani Alhalwani, Emma Biesada, Anna Dondero, Marie Gosselin, Nicole Savage, J. Alex Huffman, University of Denver

     Abstract Number: 703
     Working Group: Bioaerosols

Abstract
Due to urbanization, many areas around the world are experiencing higher levels of anthropogenic pollutantion that exist in many forms. Secondary gas-phase pollutants NO2 and O3 have been shown to be able to react with tyrosine residues of proteins [e.g. 1], introducing the possibility that these modified proteins could exacerbate environmental allergies for people living in urban areas [2]. Recent work has shown than O3 by itself can modify proteins on the surface of airborne biological particles and that fluorescence-related detection can be influenced in polluted environments [e.g. 3]. We have investigated the effect of protein nitration using tetranitromethane (TNM) as a surrogate for the tyrosine-specific gas-phase nitration induced by NO2 and O3 and peroxynitrite (PN) as a surrogate for non-specific nitration induced within human systems. We show the resultant changes in UV-vis absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra of four protein types and show how detection using a WIBS-4A (wideband issue bioaerosol sensor) is reduced after nitration.

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[2] Franze, T., Weller, M. G., Niessner, R., and Poschl, U.: Enzyme immunoassays for the investigation of protein nitration by air pollutants, Analyst, 128, 824-831, 2003.

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