He Ruiwen, Schaub Olivier, Geers Christoph, Moreno-Echeverri Aura Maria, Gunasingam Gowsinth, Balog Sandor, Schultheiß Maik, Gutmann Bastian, Krebs Tobias, Petri-Fink Alke, Rothen-Rutishauser Barbara
Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.
NanoLockin GmbH, Route de la Fonderie 2, c/o Colab Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.
Environ Sci Technol. 2025 Jul 8;59(26):13119-13130. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.4c08426. Epub 2025 Jun 16.
Diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) can deposit onto the respiratory epithelial surface upon inhalation. The quantification of DEP deposition on cells is important for understanding dose-response relationships within tissues. However, continuous, nondestructive methods for monitoring DEP deposition on cells remain challenging. We investigated a miniaturized thermosensitive detection system (CalorQuanti) and integrated it into the VITROCELL Cloud Alpha system, the so-called Cloud Alpha/CalorQuanti, to combine cell exposure to particles at the air-liquid interface (ALI) and online particle monitoring on cells. The Cloud Alpha/CalorQuanti demonstrates uniform particle deposition, providing the basis for online monitoring of particles on cells. With low detection limits (93 to 415 ng/cm) for gold nanoparticles (AuNPs, as test material) and DEPs, the device showed strong positive relationships ( ≥ 0.95) between particle concentrations measured and thermal signal intensities generated on cells under dry and humid conditions. It also possesses the versatility to optimize online particle detection on cells by adjusting measurement parameters to balance sensitivity and phototoxicity. The Cloud Alpha/CalorQuanti allows exposure to aerosolized DEPs at ALI while providing sensitive monitoring and quantification of DEP deposition on cells. This device is useful for monitoring combustion-derived carbon-based particle exposure on cells following laboratory simulation and field exposures, advancing environmental health research.
柴油尾气颗粒（DEPs）在吸入时可沉积在呼吸道上皮表面。量化DEPs在细胞上的沉积对于理解组织内的剂量反应关系很重要。然而，持续、无损监测DEPs在细胞上沉积的方法仍然具有挑战性。我们研究了一种小型化热敏检测系统（CalorQuanti），并将其集成到VITROCELL Cloud Alpha系统中，即所谓的Cloud Alpha/CalorQuanti，以结合在气液界面（ALI）使细胞暴露于颗粒以及对细胞上的颗粒进行在线监测。Cloud Alpha/CalorQuanti显示出颗粒沉积均匀，为在线监测细胞上的颗粒提供了基础。对于金纳米颗粒（AuNPs，作为测试材料）和DEPs，该设备具有较低的检测限（93至415 ng/cm），在干燥和潮湿条件下，所测量的颗粒浓度与细胞上产生的热信号强度之间显示出强正相关关系（≥0.95）。它还具有通过调整测量参数来平衡灵敏度和光毒性，从而优化细胞上在线颗粒检测的通用性。Cloud Alpha/CalorQuanti允许在ALI处使细胞暴露于雾化的DEPs，同时对DEPs在细胞上的沉积进行灵敏监测和量化。该设备可用于在实验室模拟和现场暴露后监测细胞上燃烧衍生的碳基颗粒暴露情况，推动环境卫生研究。
