1. A novel system to generate WTC dust particles for inhalation exposures.
- Author
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Vaughan, Joshua M, Garrett, Brittany J, Prophete, Colette, Horton, Lori, Sisco, Maureen, Soukup, Joleen M, Zelikoff, Judith T, Ghio, Andrew, Peltier, Richard E, Asgharian, Bahman, Chen, Lung-Chi, and Cohen, Mitchell D
- Subjects
INHALERS ,INTRATRACHEAL drug administration ,BUILDING failures ,RESPIRATORY organ injuries ,PHYSIOLOGICAL effects of dust ,LABORATORY rats - Abstract
First responders (FRs) present at Ground Zero within the critical first 72 h after the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse have progressively exhibited significant respiratory injury. The majority (>96%) of WTC dusts were >10 μm and no studies have examined potential health effects of this size fraction. This study sought to develop a system to generate and deliver supercoarse (10-53 μm) WTC particles to a rat model in a manner that mimicked FR exposure scenarios. A modified Fishing Line generator was integrated onto an intratracheal inhalation (ITIH) system that allowed for a bypassing of the nasal passages so as to mimic FR exposures. Dust concentrations were measured gravimetrically; particle size distribution was measured via elutriation. Results indicate that the system could produce dusts with 23 μm mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) at levels up to ≥1200 mg/m
3 . To validate system utility, F344 rats were exposed for 2 h to ≈100 mg WTC dust/m3 . Exposed rats had significantly increased lung weight and levels of select tracer metals 1 h after exposure. Using this system, it is now possible to conduct relevant inhalation exposures to determine adverse WTC dusts impacts on the respiratory system. Furthermore, this novel integrated Fishing Line-ITIH system could potentially be used in the analyses of a wide spectrum of other dusts/pollutants of sizes previously untested or delivered to the lungs in ways that did not reflect realistic exposure scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2014
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