title: Analysis of coal tar pitch and smoke extract components and their cytotoxicity on human bronchial epithelial cells.
abstract: Coal tar pitch and its smoke are considered hazardous by-products and common pollutant generated from coal industry processing. In this study, coal tar pitch and its smoke extracts were characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with dimethylsulfoxide. We identified only 0.3025% of components in the total coal tar pitch using GC/MS. Among 18 identified compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has the highest relative abundance (0.19%). The remaining components were composed of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic compounds and alkenes. In contrast, among 38 coal tar pitch smoke extract constituents that have been profiled, 87.91% were PAHs, and the remaining 12.09% were composed of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic compounds and alkenes. The cytotoxic effect of coal tar pitch and its smoke extracts on BEAS-2B cells were also evaluated by MTT assay. BEAS-2B cells exposed to coal tar pitch showed a non dose-dependent U-shaped cytotoxicity with a dosage for maximal inhibitory of 3.75 mg/L. In contrast, BEAS-2B cells exposed to coal tar pitch smoke extracts showed a dose dependent cytotoxicity with a LC(50) of 8.64 mg/L. Our study demonstrated the significant different composition and cytotoxicity of coal tar pitch and its extracts, suggesting two different underlying mechanisms that are pending future investigation.
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health, 100# Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
authors.forename: Zhitao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yongjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Lixia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hansong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Feifei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yiming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D001980:Bronchi / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003033:Coal Tar / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D012906:Smoke / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012906:Smoke; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D003033:Coal Tar; C022616:thiazolyl blue; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide