Respiratory burst in alveolar macrophages exposed to urban particles is not a predictor of cytotoxicity.

We examined the utility of respiratory burst measurements in alveolar macrophages to assess adverse cellular changes following exposure to urban particles. Cells were obtained by bronchioalveolar lavage of Fisher 344 rats and exposed (0-100 µg/well) to urban particles (EHC-93, SRM-1648, SRM-1649, PM2.5), the soluble (EHC-93sol) and insoluble (EHC-93insol) fractions of EHC-93 (EHC-93tot), mineral particles (TiO(2), SiO(2)) and metal oxides (iron III oxide, iron II/III oxide, copper II oxide, nickel II oxide). The particle-induced respiratory burst was measured by chemiluminescence for 2h after the addition of particles. The cells were then stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), yeast Zymosan fragments (Zymosan), or lipopolysaccharide plus interferon-gamma (LPS/IFN-γ) and the stimulant-induced respiratory burst was measured. Independently of the potential of particles to induce directly a respiratory burst, exposure to most particles attenuated the subsequent stimulant-induced burst. The notable exception was SiO(2), which produced a strong respiratory burst upon contact with the macrophages and enhanced the subsequent response to PMA or LPS/IFN-γ. Based on the degree of inhibition of the stimulant-dependent respiratory burst, particles were clustered into groups of high (SRM-1649, iron III oxide), intermediate (EHC-93tot, EHC-93insol, SRM-1648, VERP, iron II/III oxide, copper II oxide), and low (EHC-93sol, SiO(2), TiO2 and nickel II oxide) potency. Across these clusters, the potency of the particles to inhibit the stimulant-dependent respiratory burst showed poor correlation with cytotoxicity determined by XTT reduction assay.

Effect of growth media and washing on the spectral signatures of aerosolized biological simulants.

We have evaluated the influence of growth media and washing on the laser-induced fluorescence spectra of bacteria. Three different bacterial simulants were cultured in three types of growth media. Three kinds of samples were generated from each culture: the culture itself, the growth medium alone, and a triple-washed sample. The materials were injected as aerosols in a lab-sized lidar aerosol chamber to obtain their spectra. Using two different analysis approaches, signature variations were observed between the three kinds of samples for most combinations of growth media/bacteria. This study concludes that the culture media used influences the spectral signatures.