title: Characterization by scanning transmission electron microscopy of silica particles from alveolar macrophages of coal miners.
abstract: The structure and composition of silica-rich particles recovered by lavage from the lungs of three active miners with different medical histories were studied using high-resolution electron microscopy and chemical microanalysis. The results are compared to the similarly determined structure and composition of respirable-size mineral particles obtained from roof-bolter dust-box samples from two coal mines of widely different bulk quartz concentrations. The results show that the lungs of the miners contain silica-based particles with structures not found in the mine samples. Also, the particle structures and compositions found in the macrophages were different in each of the miners. The results suggest that possibility that intracellular processes may affect the susceptibility of individuals to silica-induced pneumoconioses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Rainey
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bolsaitis
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dirsa
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Vander Sande
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003032:Coal Mining; D006801:Humans; D016676:Macrophages, Alveolar / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D017348:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning Transmission; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011009:Pneumoconiosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012822:Silicon Dioxide