10th International Aerosol Conference September 2 - September 7, 2018 America's Center Convention Complex St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Online Analysis of Volatile Organic Gases Released from Bronchial Cells upon Aerosol Deposition as a Diagnostic Tool for Metabolic Processes
LAURE-ESTELLE CASSAGNES, Zaira Leni, Alexander Håland, Liang Zhu, David Bell, Urs Baltensperger, Imad El Haddad, Armin Wisthaler, Marianne Geiser, Josef Dommen, Paul Scherrer Institute
Abstract Number: 163 Working Group: Health Related Aerosols
Abstract Air pollution has been recently estimated to cause about 4.3 million deaths per year and 123 million years of life lost [1]. Particulate matter contains chemical species such as transition metals (Fe, Cu, Mn…), quinones, organic peroxides and elemental carbon that may lead to oxidative stress at the inner surface of the lungs. However, the link between the chemical composition of particulate matter (PM) and the adverse health outcome in humans remains unclear and there is a need to develop pulmonary oxidative stress biomarkers that could be used as measures for impaired health by air pollution in medical practice or in epidemiological studies.
Many volatile organic compounds (VOC) are produced in the human body and emitted through exhalation or excretion through the skin, in the feces and in urine. The elaborations of specific marker compounds or metabolic profiles in the human breath as indicator of diseases have become a hot research topic in medical diagnostics. Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) is commonly used for clinical analysis of gas exhaled by humans, since it is a fast, direct and non-invasive method [2]. However the literature regarding the use of PTR-MS on cell cultures is very scarce and not related to air pollution toxicity.
We aim to exploit the potential of PTR-MS on VOCs released from bronchial cells (BEAS-2B cell line) placed in an exposure chamber allowing deposition of substances either by injection or from a continuous air flow [3]. In a first set of experiments, cells were exposed to model compounds: H2O2, copper (Cu(II)), 1,4-naphthoquinone (1,4-NQ) and a combination of Cu(II) and 1,4-NQ. The compounds were injected at the air-liquid interface of the cell cultures at stable temperature and humidity and thereafter the profile of VOC emission was recorded. In a second set of experiments, cells were exposed to fresh and aged secondary organic aerosols produced in a smog chamber. In parallel, the cytotoxicity of these compounds was assessed with the LDH assay and the intracellular oxidative stress measured by using DCFH.
This innovative setup highlighted differences in the profile of VOCs released by the cells after treatment compared to the controls. The results obtained will allow us to better understand the cellular defense pathways towards aerosols leading to the release of small molecules. In addition there will be increased knowledge about the metabolism of PM by cells and biomarkers of pulmonary oxidative stress for medical applications will likely be identified.
This abstract is funded by the SNF grant CR32I3_166325.
[1] Lelieved J. Clean air in the Anthropocene. Faraday Discuss. 2017;(200), 693-703. [2] Herbig J et al. Proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry applications in medical research. J. Breath Res. 2009;3(2):020201. [3] Mertes P. et al. A compact and portable deposition chamber to study nanoparticles in air-exposed tissue. J Aerosol Med Pulm Drug Deliv. 2013;(4), 228-235.