Nanoparticles from photocopiers induce oxidative stress and upper respiratory tract inflammation in healthy volunteers

Photocopiers emit large quantities of nanoparticles (NPs); however, their toxicological properties have not been studied. Here we investigate for the first time early human responses following a day's exposure to NPs from photocopiers. Nine healthy subjects spent 6 h at a busy photocopy centre on 2-3 randomly selected days. Matched nasal lavage and urine samples were collected before and at different time points post-exposure. Nasal lavage samples were analysed for 14 cytokines, inflammatory cells and total protein. Urine samples were analysed for 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG). Exposure assessment was conducted using a suite of instruments. The mean total particle number on exposure days was >5 times higher than background, with size distributions in nanoscale range (peak 30-40 nm). Following exposure, 8-OH-dG and several pro-inflammatory cytokines were elevated 2-10 folds compared with pre-exposure levels and remained elevated for up to 36 h. We conclude that NPs from photocopiers induce upper airway inflammation and oxidative stress.