Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
Volume 28, Issue 23, Pages 30384-30389Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-14025-y
Keywords
Particulate matter; Diesel particulate matter; Confocal microscopy; 3D microscope imaging
Categories
Funding
- Barts Charity, UK [MGU0312]
- Medical College of Saint Bartholomew's Hospital Trust [17/LO/1752]
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The study reveals that diesel particulate matter can appear as aggregates of spherule particles with smooth surfaces or with sharp jagged edges. These new findings may explain how air pollution particulate matter can infiltrate human airway cells and lead to various diseases.
To date, diesel particulate matter (DPM) has been described as aggregates of spherule particles with a smooth appearing surface. We have used a new colour confocal microscope imaging method to study the 3D shape of diesel particulate matter (DPM); we observed that the particles can have sharp jagged appearing edges and consistent with these findings, 2D light microscopy demonstrated that DPM adheres to human lung epithelial cells. Importantly, the slide preparation and confocal microscopy method applied avoids possible alteration to the particles' surfaces and enables colour 3D visualisation of the particles. From twenty-one PM10 particles, the mean (standard deviation) major axis length was 5.6 (2.25) mu m with corresponding values for the minor axis length of 3.8 (1.25) mu m. These new findings may help explain why air pollution particulate matter (PM) has the ability to infiltrate human airway cells, potentially leading to respiratory tract, cardiovascular and neurological disease.
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