10th International Aerosol Conference
September 2 - September 7, 2018
America's Center Convention Complex
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Abstract View


Toxicity Testing in Human Airway Epithelial Cells for Particulate Emissions Resulting from Alternative Fuels

C.M. SABBIR AHMED, Jin Chen, Jiacheng Yang, Cody Cullen, Georgios Karavalakis, Ying-Hsuan Lin, University of California, Riverside

     Abstract Number: 909
     Working Group: Aerosols and Health - Connecting the Dots

Abstract
Traffic-related particulate matter (PM) has been associated with a broad range of adverse health effects in humans including respiratory, cardiovascular, cancer, central nervous system, developmental and reproductive health outcomes. Recently, alternative fuels have been widely used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and oil imports. As fuel compositions change, there is a need to conduct systematic emission and toxicity testing to evaluate their potential impacts. In this study we assess the toxicological potency of PM emissions from a current technology vehicle equipped with a gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine when operating on eight different fuels with different compositions, including aromatic hydrocarbon contents, ethanol content, and PM index (PMI). Testing was conducted over the LA92 driving cycle using a chassis dynamometer. PM samples are extracted and examined using an in vitro model of human airway epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). Aerosol oxidative potential, XTT-based cell proliferation assays, the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and expression profiling of oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokines and metabolic syndrome related genes are assessed to determine the relative toxicity of PM resulting from various compositions of the fuels. Aliquots of the exhaust filter extracts are analyzed to determine the PM compositions at molecular level. The study will investigate associations among fuel compositions, physiochemical properties of PM, aerosol oxidative potential and PM-induced health effects to understand the potential health risks from alternative fuel formulations and GDI engines.