Day-to-day variability of toxic events induced by organic compounds bound to size segregated atmospheric aerosol
Abstract
This study quantified the temporal variability of concentration of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (c-PAHs), genotoxicity, oxidative DNA damage and dioxin-like activity of the extractable organic matter (EOM) of atmospheric aerosol particles of aerodynamic diameter (d(ae), mu m) coarse (1 < d(ae) < 10), upper- (0.5 < d(ae) < 1) and lower-accumulation (0.17 < d(ae) < 0.5) and ultrafine (<0.17) fractions. The upper accumulation fraction formed most of the aerosol mass for 22 of the 26 study days and contained 44% of total c-PAHs, while the ultrafine fraction contained only 11%.
DNA adduct levels suggested a crucial contribution of c-PAHs bound to the upper accumulation fraction. The dioxin-like activity was also driven primarily by c-PAH concentrations.
In contrast, oxidative DNA damage was not related to c-PAHs, as a negative correlation with c-PAHs was observed. These results suggest that genotoxicity and dioxin-like activity are the major toxic effects of organic compounds bound to size segregated aerosol, while oxidative DNA damage is not induced by EOM. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
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