title: The Gillings Sampler--an electrostatic air sampler as an alternative method for aerosol in vitro exposure studies.
abstract: There is growing interest in studying the toxicity and health risk of exposure to multi-pollutant mixtures found in ambient air, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving towards setting standards for these types of mixtures. Additionally, the Health Effects Institute's strategic plan aims to develop and apply next-generation multi-pollutant approaches to understanding the health effects of air pollutants. There's increasing concern that conventional in vitro exposure methods are not adequate to meet EPA's strategic plan to demonstrate a direct link between air pollution and health effects. To meet the demand for new in vitro technology that better represents direct air-to-cell inhalation exposures, a new system that exposes cells at the air-liquid interface was developed. This new system, named the Gillings Sampler, is a modified two-stage electrostatic precipitator that provides a viable environment for cultured cells. Polystyrene latex spheres were used to determine deposition efficiencies (38-45%), while microscopy and imaging techniques were used to confirm uniform particle deposition. Negative control A549 cell exposures indicated the sampler can be operated for up to 4h without inducing any significant toxic effects on cells, as measured by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and interleukin-8 (IL-8). A novel positive aerosol control exposure method, consisting of a p-tolualdehyde (TOLALD) impregnated mineral oil aerosol (MOA), was developed to test this system. Exposures to the toxic MOA at a 1 ng/cm(2) dose of TOLALD yielded a reproducible 1.4 and 2-fold increase in LDH and IL-8 mRNA levels over controls. This new system is intended to be used as an alternative research tool for aerosol in vitro exposure studies. While further testing and optimization is still required to produce a "commercially ready" system, it serves as a stepping-stone in the development of cost-effective in vitro technology that can be made accessible to researchers in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zavala
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lichtveld
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
authors.forename: Seth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ebersviller
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States; Center for Environmental Medicine and Lung Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
authors.forename: Johnny L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Carson
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
authors.forename: Glenn W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States; Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States; Center for Environmental Medicine and Lung Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
authors.forename: Ilona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jaspers
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
authors.forename: Harvey E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Jeffries
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
authors.forename: Kenneth G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Sexton
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States. Electronic address: vizuete@unc.edu.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vizuete
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis*; D000388:Air / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D007840:Latex / Q000737:chemistry; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D055672:Static Electricity; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D007840:Latex; D052638:Particulate Matter; D011137:Polystyrenes
keywords: Aerosol toxicity; Air–liquid interface exposures; Electrostatic air sampler