Three-Day Continuous Exposure Monitoring of CNT Manufacturing Workplaces.

Continuous monitoring for possible exposure to carbon nanotubes was conducted over a period of 2 to 3 days at workplaces that manufacture multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). To estimate the potential emission of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and potential exposure of workers, personal sampling, area monitoring, and real-time monitoring using an scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and dust monitor were conducted at workplaces where the workers manufactured CNTs. The personal and area sampling of the total suspended particulate (TSP) at the MWCNT manufacturing facilities ranged from 0.031 to 0.254 and from N.D (not detected) to 0.253 mg/m(3), respectively. This 2- to 3-day monitoring study found that nanoparticles were released when opening the chemical vapor deposit (CVD) reactor door after the synthesis of MWCNTs, when transferring the MWCNTs to containers and during blending and grinding. However, distinguishing the background concentration from the work process particle emission was complicated due to sustained and even increased particle concentrations after the work processes were terminated. The MWCNTs sampled for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation exhibited a tangled shape with no individual dispersed CNT structures.

Persistent DNA damage measured by comet assay of Sprague Dawley rat lung cells after five days of inhalation exposure and 1 month post-exposure to dispersed multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) generated by new MWCNT aerosol generation system.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have specific physico-chemical properties that are useful for the electronics, automotive, and construction industries. Yet, despite their many advantages, there is a current lack of available information on the human health and environmental hazards of CNTs. For this reason, the current study investigated the inhalation toxicity potential of multiwall CNTs (MWCNTs). Eight-week-old rats were divided into four groups (10 rats in each group), the fresh-air control (0mg/m(3)), low-concentration group (0.16mg/m(3)), middle-concentration group (0.34mg/m(3)), and high-concentration group (0.94mg/m(3)), and the whole body was exposed to MWCNTs for 5 days (6h/day). Lung cells were then isolated from five rats in each group on day 0 and 1 month after the 5-day exposure, respectively. The MWCNTs were generated by a newly designed generation system, and the MWCNT concentrations in the exposure chambers monitored in accordance with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 0500 using a membrane filter. The MWCNTs were also sampled for an elemental carbon concentration analysis using a glass filter. The animals exhibited no significant body weight changes, abnormal clinical signs, or mortality during the experiment. A single-cell gel electrophoresis assay (Comet assay) was conducted to determine the DNA damage in lung cells obtained from the right lung. As a result, the Olive tail moments were 23.00±1.76, 30.39±1.96, 22.96±1.26, and 33.98±2.21 for the control, low-, middle-, and high-concentration groups, respectively, on day 0 postexposure. Meanwhile, 1 month postexposure, the Olive tail moments were 25.00±2.71, 28.39±3.55, 22.56±1.36, and 31.97±3.16 for the control, low-, middle-, and high-concentration groups, respectively. Thus, the MWCNTs caused a statistically significant increase in lung DNA damage at high concentration (0.94mg/m(3)) when compared with the negative control group on day 0 and 1 month postexposure.

Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) Dispersion and Aerosolization with Hot Water Atomization without Addition of Any Surfactant.

OBJECTIVES: Carbon nanotubes are an important new class of technological materials that have numerous novel and useful properties. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), which is a nanomaterial, is now in mass production because of its excellent mechanical and electrical properties. Although MWCNTs appear to have great industrial and medical potential, there is little information regarding their toxicological effects on researchers and workers who could be exposed to them by inhalation during the handling of MWCNTs. METHODS: The generation of an untangled MWCNT aerosol with a consistent concentration without using surfactants that was designed to be tested in in vivo inhalation toxicity testing was attempted. To do this, MWCNTs were dispersed in deionized water without the addition of any surfactant. To facilitate the dispersion of MWCNTs in deionized water, the water was heated to 40℃, 60℃, and 80℃ depending on the sample with ultrasonic sonication. Then the dispersed MWCNTs were atomized to generate the MWCNT aerosol. After aerosolization of the MWCNTs, the shapes of the NTs were examined by transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS: The aerosolized MWCNTs exhibited an untangled shape and the MWCNT generation rate was about 50 mg/m(3). CONCLUSION: Our method provided sufficient concentration and dispersion of MWNCTs to be used for inhalation toxicity testing.

Combined use of optical and electron microscopic techniques for the measurement of hygroscopic property, chemical composition, and morphology of individual aerosol particles.

In this work, an analytical method for the characterization of the hygroscopic property, chemical composition, and morphology of individual aerosol particles is introduced. The method, which is based on the combined use of optical and electron microscopic techniques, is simple and easy to apply. An optical microscopic technique was used to perform the visual observation of the phase transformation and hygroscopic growth of aerosol particles on a single particle level. A quantitative energy-dispersive electron probe X-ray microanalysis, named low-Z particle EPMA, was used to perform a quantitative chemical speciation of the same individual particles after the measurement of the hygroscopic property. To validate the analytical methodology, the hygroscopic properties of artificially generated NaCl, KCl, (NH(4))(2)SO(4), and Na(2)SO(4) aerosol particles of micrometer size were investigated. The practical applicability of the analytical method for studying the hygroscopic property, chemical composition, and morphology of ambient aerosol particles is demonstrated.