Quantifying respiratory tract deposition of airborne graphene nanoplatelets: The impact of plate-like shape and folded structure.

The booming development of commercial products containing graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) triggers growing concerns over their release into the air. Precise prediction of human respiratory system deposition of airborne GNPs, especially in alveolar region, is very important for inhalation exposure assessment. In this study, the pulmonary deposition of airborne GNPs was predicted by the multiple-path particle dosimetry (MPPD) model with consideration of GNPs plate-like shape and folded structure effect. Different equivalent diameters of GNPs were derived and utilized to describe different deposition mechanisms in the MPPD model. Both of small GNPs (geometric lateral size dg < 0.1 µm) and large GNPs (dg > 10 µm) had high deposition fractions in human respiratory system. The total deposition fractions for 0.1 and 30 µm GNPs were 41.6% and 75.6%, respectively. Most of the small GNPs deposited in the alveolar region, while the large GNPs deposited in the head airways. The aerodynamic diameter of GNPs was much smaller than the geometric lateral dimension due to the nanoscale thickness. For GNPs with geometric lateral size of 30 µm, the aerodynamic diameter was 2.98 µm. The small aerodynamic diameter of plate-like GNPs enabled deposition in the alveolar region, and folded GNPs had higher alveolar deposition than planar GNPs. Heavy breathing led to higher GNPs deposition fraction in head airways and lower deposition fractions in the alveolar region than resting breathing.

Importance of the number emission factor of combustion-generated aerosols from nano-enabled products.

Accidental or open waste burning and incineration of nano-enabled products (NEPs) might lead to the release of incidental aerosols in the nano size range into the environment resulting in harmful effects on humans. We have investigated combustion-generated aerosol release during accidental burning for several real-life NEPs such as paints with silica (SiO2) and spruce wood panels containing SiO2 and Fe2O3 nanomaterials (NMs), paper with SiO2 and Fe2O3 NMs and polymeric composites with CuPhthtalocyanine NMs in poly lactic acid (PLA), polyamide 6 (PA6) and thermoplastic pol-urethane (TPU) matrices. Chemical compositions, aerosols number emission factors (nefs) and concentrations of the signature elements of the NMs of the combustion-generated aerosols were investigated. In addition, the residual ash was analyzed. The outcomes of this study shed light on how NM and matrix types influenced the properties of the released aerosols. Based on our results it was established that the combustion-generated aerosols were composed of transformed NMs with modified physical-chemical characteristics compared to the pristine NMs. In addition to aerosols with transformed NMs, there were also particles due to incomplete combustion of the matrix. Types of the pristine NMs and matrices affected the characteristics of the released aerosols. Since the effect of the aerosols is related to the inhaled aerosol number concentration, the nef is an important parameter. Our results showed that the nefs in the size range of 5.6 to 560 nm depended strongly on the type of combusted NEP, which indicated that the NEPs could be categorized according to their potential to release aerosols in this size range when they were burnt. The generated release data facilitate the assessment of human and environmental exposure and the associated risk assessment of combustion-generated aerosols from NEPs.

Release of graphene-related materials from epoxy-based composites: characterization, quantification and hazard assessment in vitro.

Due to their mechanical strength, thermal stability and electrical conductivity, graphene-related materials (GRMs) have been extensively explored for various applications. Moreover, GRMs have been studied and applied as fillers in polymer composite manufacturing to enhance the polymer performance. With the foreseen growth in GRM production, occupational and consumer exposure is inevitable, thus raising concerns for potential health risks. Therefore, this study aims (1) to characterize aerosol particles released after mechanical abrasion on GRM-reinforced epoxy composites, (2) to quantify the amounts of protruding and free-standing GRMs in the abraded particles and (3) to assess the potential effects of the pristine GRMs as well as the abraded particles on human macrophages differentiated from the THP-1 cell line in vitro. GRMs used in this study included graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), graphene oxide (GO), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). All types of pristine GRMs tested induced a dose-dependent increase in reactive oxygen species formation, but a decrease in cell viability was only detected for large GNPs at high concentrations (20 and 40 µg mL-1). The particle modes measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) were 300-400 nm and using an aerodynamic particle sizer (APS) were between 2-3 µm, indicating the release of respirable particles. A significant fraction (51% to 92%) of the GRMs embedded in the epoxy composites was released in the form of free-standing or protruding GRMs in the abraded particles. The abraded particles did not induce any acute cytotoxic effects.

Influence of the aliphatic chain length of imidazolium based ionic liquids on the surface structure.

The molecular surface structure of four imidazolium based ionic liquids was studied with two surface sensitive techniques. Angle resolved neutral impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy (ARNICISS) allows us to determine elemental concentration depth profiles and to obtain information about the topography of the surface. Angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) can be used to study the chemical composition of the surface. The room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium [EMIM], 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium [BMIM], 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium [HMIM], and 3-methyl-1-octylimidazolium [OMIM] bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [Tf(2)N] were investigated at 293 K. No evidence of surface active impurities was observed. The majority of previous studies about these RTILs with ARXPS or other surface sensitive techniques dealt only with single examples of these substances or with different combination of the anion and cation. In this present study a homologous series of the four RTILs mentioned above was investigated. This means that only the number of carbon atoms in the aliphatic chain of the cation is varied. Due to this procedure it is possible to study the influence of the chain length, which is a part of the imidazolic ring, on the composition of the surface and the surface near region. In this paper we demonstrate the potential of ARNICISS as a surface sensitive technique to study the surface structure of the RTILs. Furthermore, we combine our NICISS data with ARXPS data, to get a better comprehension of the influence of the aliphatic chain length. After the presentation of the results we develop a model of the surface structure of different RTILs. We have discovered two different surface structures that depend on the number of carbon atoms inside the aliphatic chain.