Abstract
The mechanisms of particulate pollution-related cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are not well understood. We studied the passage of radioactively labeled ultrafine particles after their intratracheal instillation. Hamsters received a single intratracheal instillation of 100 μg albumin nanocolloid particles (nominal diameter ≤ 80 nm) labeled with 100 μCi technetium-99m and were killed after 5, 15, 30, and 60 min. In blood, radioactivity, expressed as percentage of total body radioactivity per gram blood, amounted to 2.88 ± 0.80%, 1.30 ± 0.17%, 1.52 ± 0.46%, and 0.21 ± 0.06% at 5, 15, 30, and 60 min, respectively. Thin-layer chromatography showed only one peak of radioactivity corresponding to unaltered 99mTc-albumin nanocolloid. In the liver, radioactivity, expressed as percentage of total radioactivity per organ, amounted to 0.10 ± 0.07%, 0.23 ± 0.06%, 1.24 + 0.27%, and 0.06 ± 0.02% at 5, 15, 30, and 60 min, respectively. Lower values were observed in the heart, spleen, kidneys, and brain. Dose dependence was assessed at 30 rain following instillation of 10 μg and 1 μg 99mTc-albumin per animal (n = 3 at each dose), and values of the same relative magnitudes as after instillation of 100 μg were obtained. We conclude that a significant fraction of 99mTc-albumin, taken as a model of ultrafine particles, rapidly diffuses from the lungs into the systemic circulation.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1665-1668 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine |
Volume | 164 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 1 2001 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Air pollution
- Toxic inhalation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
- Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine