Work

Air cyclone samplers for assessing the toxicological potential of particulate matter: A case study in railway environments

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Evaluating the toxicological impact of atmospheric particulate pollution (aerosols) is challenging. Several parameters of sampling need to be controlled to provide reliable evaluations. Notably collecting sufficient sample mass and preserving sample properties from collection to testing (cells for in vitro tests, lung fluid for reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity) is key. Sampling on a filter is the most widely used approach, but it has a major limitation. The extraction of aerosols trapped in the filter still requires the use of solvent and/or sonication, that may modify the size and/or the composition of the sampled aerosols. Here we explore alternative methodologies with cyclone air samplers to minimize alterations to the properties of the sample by collecting aerosols in a cone. The results show that the use of sonication remains necessary with a dry cyclone (no liquid of collection), whereas the use of a liquid with a surfactant avoids this. The associated toxicological tests show that 10 min of sampling in a moving train is sufficient to discriminate stations based on aerosols-induced effects. Higher oxidative stress levels are observed in underground stations than in overground stations for the intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species (1.87 vs 1.31 exposed cells/control), dithiothreitol activity (0.12 vs 0.09 nmol min−1) and ascorbic acid activity (0.52 vs 0.03 nmol min−1). Cyclone sampling thus represents a promising method for collecting a sufficient mass of aerosols in a short duration and limiting the modification of their properties for direct toxicological evaluation.

Source: Aerosol Science and Technology

DOI: 10.1080/02786826.2025.2568698