Chemical multi-fingerprinting of exogenous ultrafine particles in human serum and pleural effusion

Abstract

Ambient particulate matter pollution is one of the leading causes of global disease burden. Epidemiological studies have revealed the connections between particulate exposure and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. However, until now, the real species of ambient ultrafine particles (UFPs) in humans are still scarcely known. Here we report the discovery and characterization of exogenous nanoparticles (NPs) in human serum and pleural effusion (PE) samples collected from non-occupational subjects in a typical polluted region. We show the wide presence of NPs in human serum and PE samples with extreme diversity in chemical species, concentration, and morphology. Through chemical multi-fingerprinting (including elemental fingerprints, high-resolution structural fingerprints, and stable iron isotopic fingerprints) of NPs, we identify the sources of the NPs to be abiogenic, particularly, combustion-derived particulate emission. Our results provide evidence for the translocation of ambient UFPs into the human circulatory system, and also provide information for understanding their systemic health effects.

Trans‐Regional Transport of Haze Particles From the North China Plain to Yangtze River Delta During Winter

“…TEM observations not only find large numbers of tarballs but also reveal that many nanosized metal particles internally mixed with SNA particles from the NCP were transported into the YRD (Figure 7b). Tarballs from residential coal burning contain plentiful carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and metal (e.g., Zn, Pb, Mn, and Cr) particles from heavy industries are typical toxic aerosols for human health (Y. Chen et al., 2013; Lu et al., 2020; Zhang, Schauer, et al., 2008). Our study potentially shows that the large population in the city clusters of the YRD can also be exposed to these long‐range transported tarballs and metal particles during the TRT haze events (Figure 11).…”

Variation in the concentration and regional distribution of magnetic nanoparticles in human brains, with and without Alzheimer’s disease, from the UK

“…often rounded shapes and interlocking surface crystallites), and size distribution (<10 to > 100 nm) of MNPs found in the frontal cortex, and their association with other metals (particularly metals not normally present in the body, such as platinum) mirror those of the MNPs which occur in abundance in airborne particulate matter (PM) pollution 21 —at heavily-trafficked roadsides, for example. Similarly distinctive MNPs and co-associated metals have been found in the human brainstem 31 , heart 32 , 33 , blood and pleural effusions 34 and placenta 35 . Magnetite and other iron-rich NPs are formed readily at high temperatures (i.e.…”

Magnetite Particle Presence in the Human Brain: A Computational Dosimetric Study to Emphasize the Need of a Complete Assessment of the Electromagnetic Power Deposition at 3.5 GHz

“…These nanocrystals were first identified in 2016 in the human brain [4] and later in other organs too (heart, blood, liver, etc.) [5,6]. The exogenic magnetite nanoparticles present a different morphology from the endogenic [7].…”