Toxicology of Particulate Air Pollution

Despite improvements in air quality over time, air pollution still has significant public health impacts, particularly for susceptible and vulnerable individuals who are exposed to pollution from multiple sources. Our laboratory has focused for many years on the toxicology of inhaled ultrafine particles (UFPs), the smallest size fraction of airborne particulate matter that is derived from combustion-related processes, as well as engineered nanoparticles (NPs). We investigate the impacts of age, gaseous co-pollutant exposure, and health status on the response(s) to inhaled UFPs and NPs and the basis for adverse effects in the pulmonary, cardiovascular, and central nervous systems. Better understanding the effects of ultrafine and other ambient particles, as well as gas-particle mixtures, on health may inform future air quality regulations.

Our research has recently evolved to encompass questions about airborne polymeric particles given the ubiquity and ever-increasing amounts of plastic waste in the environment. While many reports focus on water-borne micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), less is understood about the sources and transport of plastics in air and the properties that could allow MNPs to be inhaled by humans and retained in tissues, where they may cause adverse health effects. The focus on physicochemical properties and exposure characterization is where the UFP/NP and MNP worlds intersect, as they are determinants of deposition within the respiratory tract, the ultimate fate of deposited particles, and the effects that they have in the lung and in secondary target tissues.

widget-8f705c60-6df