Methods to Assess Personal Exposures to Airborne Metallic Nanoparticles

描述（由申请人提供）：当吸入时，纳米颗粒可引起不利的心肺健康结果，其毒性，特别是对金属和金属氧化物，可大大大于相同组成的较大颗粒。没有标准的测量方法可用于定量评估个人接触工程纳米粒子的情况，如果没有这些方法，工人吸入纳米粒子的风险程度是未知的。本研究计划中提出的实验室工作将标准化和验证量化个人接触金属纳米颗粒所需的测量方法，这些金属纳米颗粒通常被纳入商业产品中。我们将开发一种创新的纳米颗粒沉积（NPD）采样器，专门收集纳米颗粒（与工作场所空气中的较大颗粒分离），并以反映其在呼吸道中的沉积的方式（目标1）。我们还将开发和验证一种方法来分析NPD采样器收集的纳米颗粒中的金属含量（目标2）。这些采样和分析方法将很容易被工业卫生从业人员调整，以提供评估工人接触金属纳米颗粒所需的系统。它们还将成为研究金属纳米颗粒接触与不良急性健康影响之间潜在的流行病学关系的有利工具。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): When inhaled, nanoparticles can elicit adverse cardiopulmonary health outcomes and their toxicity, particularly for metals and metal oxides, can be substantially greater than that of larger particles of the same composition. No standard measurement methods are available to quantitatively assess personal exposures to engineered nanoparticles, and without such methods, the extent to which workers are at risk from inhalation of nanoparticles is unknown. The laboratory work proposed in this research plan will standardize and validate measurement methods needed to quantify personal exposure to a range of metallic nanoparticles that are commonly incorporated into commercial products. We will develop an innovative nanoparticle deposition (NPD) sampler to collect nanoparticles specifically (separate from the larger particles in workplace air) and in a manner that reflects their deposition in the respiratory tract (Aim 1). We will also develop and validate a method to analyze the content of metal in the nanoparticles collected with the NPD sampler (Aim 2). These sampling and analysis methods will be easily adaptable by industrial hygiene practitioners to provide the system needed to assess worker exposure to metal nanoparticles. They will also represent enabling tools to study potential epidemiological relationships among metallic nanoparticle exposures and adverse acute health effects. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This work will result in methodologies to measure personal exposure to airborne metal and metal-oxide nanoparticles. As such it is applicable to assessing worker exposures to engineered nanomaterials in the burgeoning field of nanotechnology.