Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Division of Surface and Corrosion Science, 100 44, Stockholm, Sweden.
Sci Rep. 2023 Nov 27;13(1):20846. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-47884-1.
The increasing use of additive manufacturing (AM) techniques (e.g., 3D-printing) offers many advantages but at the same time presents some challenges. One concern is the possible exposure and health risk related to metal containing particles of different sizes. Using the nickel-based alloys Hastelloy X (HX) and Inconel 939 (IN939) as a case, the aim of this cross-disciplinary study was to increase the understanding on possible health hazards and exposure. This was done by performing in-depth characterization of virgin, reused and condensate powders, testing in vitro toxicity (cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, oxidative stress), and measuring occupational airborne exposure. The results showed limited metal release from both HX and IN939, and slightly different surface composition of reused compared to virgin powders. No or small effects on the cultured lung cells were observed when tested up to 100 µg/mL. Particle background levels in the printing facilities were generally low, but high transient peaks were observed in relation to sieving. Furthermore, during post processing with grinding, high levels of nanoparticles (> 100,000 particles/cm) were noted. Urine metal levels in AM operators did not exceed biomonitoring action limits. Future studies should focus on understanding the toxicity of the nanoparticles formed during printing and post-processing.
增材制造（AM）技术（例如 3D 打印）的应用日益广泛，具有许多优势，但同时也带来了一些挑战。其中一个关注点是与不同尺寸的金属颗粒有关的潜在暴露和健康风险。本跨学科研究以镍基合金 Hastelloy X（HX）和 Inconel 939（IN939）为例，旨在深入了解可能的健康危害和暴露情况。为此，对原始、再利用和冷凝粉末进行了深入的特性描述，进行了体外毒性（细胞毒性、遗传毒性、氧化应激）测试，并测量了职业性空气暴露。结果表明，HX 和 IN939 的金属释放量有限，且再利用粉末与原始粉末相比表面成分略有不同。在测试浓度高达 100µg/mL 时，对培养的肺细胞没有观察到或只有很小的影响。打印设施中的颗粒本底水平通常较低，但在过筛过程中观察到了高瞬时峰值。此外，在研磨等后处理过程中，发现了大量的纳米颗粒（>100,000 个颗粒/cm）。AM 操作人员的尿液金属水平未超过生物监测行动限值。未来的研究应重点关注打印和后处理过程中形成的纳米颗粒的毒性。
