AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Investigating the Interaction Between Airborne Proteins and Urban Pollutants
EMMALEE BIESIADA, Amani Alhalwani, J. Alex Huffman, University of Denver, Denver, CO
Abstract Number: 706 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Allergies and other respiratory problems have been on the rise in urban areas across the world, but the cause for this is largely unknown. One hypothesis for this is related to the presence of airborne proteins that have undergone nitration reactions due to interactions with ambient vehicular emissions and other air pollutants. It is thought that reactions involving airborne proteins and reactive nitrogen species (NO$_x) have the capacity to increase the severity of allergic reactions by making the protein less recognizable to the human body and evading a key step in the immune system response. The concentration of these nitrated species in urban areas is not well understood, however. Here we discuss an immunoassay technique for the detection of nitrated and non-nitrated pollen proteins relevant to urban exposure (Franze et al., 2003). The poster will present initial work towards developing the ability to quantify specific proteins in airborne samples of particulate matter.
References:
Franze, T., Weller, M., Niessner, R., & Poschl, U. (2003). Enzyme Immunoassays for the Investigation of Protein Nitration by Air Pollutants. Analyst, 128(7), 824. doi:10.1039/b303132b