https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11071685

Matthias Hufnagel ¹, Nadine May ², Johanna Wall ¹, Nadja Wingert ³, Manuel Garcia-Käufer ³, Ali Arif ³, Christof Hübner ⁴, Markus Berger ⁵, Sonja Mülhopt ², Werner Baumann ², Frederik Weis ⁶, Tobias Krebs ⁵, Wolfgang Becker ⁴, Richard Gminski ³, Dieter Stapf ², and Andrea Hartwig ¹,

¹ Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Institute of Applied Biosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany;
² Institute for Technical Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany; 
³ Institute for Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology, Medical Center—University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany;
⁴ Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology, 76327 Pfinztal, Germany; 
⁵ Vitrocell® Systems GmbH, 79183 Waldkirch, Germany; 
⁶ Palas GmbH, 76229 Karlsruhe, Germany; 

This study was the first to investigate the toxicological effects of well characterized aerosols released during combustion of thermoplastic nanocomposites using an air–liquid interface exposure system. Even though studies on the toxicological potential of combustion-generated particulate matter as well as VOCs have been published, none of them was designed to investigate the effect of the native aerosol using appropriate realistic lung cell culture models. In the current study we investigated the combustion behavior of PE-based nanocomposites on a lab-scale burner. As nanoscaled fillers TiO2 NP, CuO NP, as well as CNT were chosen for this study, with TiO2 NP representing a commonly used insoluble and inert nanomaterial, CuO NP as a known in vitro cyto- as well as genotoxic nanomaterial, and CNT as a fiber-shaped nanomaterial.

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2021.06.001

Ana Teresa Juarez-Facio ¹, Clément Castilla ², Cécile Corbière ¹, Hélène Lavanant ², Carlos Afonso ², Christophe Morin ², Nadine Merlet-Machour ², Laurence Chevalier ³, Jean-Marie Vaugeois ¹, Jérôme Yon ⁴, Christelle Monteil ¹,
¹Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, UNICAEN ABTE, 76000 Rouen, France
²Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, INSA Rouen, CNRS, COBRA, 76000 Rouen, France
³Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, INSA Rouen, CNRS, GPM-UMR6634, 76000 Rouen, France
⁴Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, INSA Rouen, CNRS, CORIA, 76000 Rouen, France

The present study illustrate a methodological approach which allows comparing, in an original and innovative way, the physical, chemical, and toxicological properties of different fine and ultrafine particles. In this study, two different operating conditions were used to obtain model particles containing either high (CAST3) or low (CAST1) organic contents, and exposed differentiated NHBE cells “on-line” at the air-liquid interface to be closer to realistic conditions.

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Regular leak tests are mandatory in aerosol research. A leak caused by a forgotten connection or defective o-ring may have a significant influence on the aerosol exposure process. We recommend to carry out a leak test prior to the experiment and as part of cleaning or service routine.

VITROCELL Application Note

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doi:10.3390/rs12040648

Patrick Augustin ¹, Sylvain Billet ² , Suzanne Crumeyrolle ³, Karine Deboudt ¹, Elsa Dieudonné ¹ , Pascal Flament ¹ , Marc Fourmentin ¹ , Sarah Guilbaud ¹, Benjamin Hanoune ⁴ , Yann Landkocz ², Clémence Méausoone ², Sayahnya Roy ⁵, François G. Schmitt ⁵, Alexei Sentchev ⁵ and Anton Sokolov ^1
1 Univ. Littoral Côte d’Opale, UR 4493—LPCA—Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie de l’Atmosphère, 59140 Dunkerque, France;
² Univ. Littoral Côte d’Opale, SFR Condorcet FR CNRS 3417, UR 4492—UCEiV—Unité de Chimie Environnementale et Interactions sur le Vivant, 59140 Dunkerque, France; 
³ Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8518—LOA—Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique, 59000 Lille, France;
⁴ Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8522—PC2A—Physico-Chimie des Processus de Combustion et de l’Atmosphère, 59000 Lille, France; 
⁵ Univ. Lille, Univ. Littoral Côte d’Opale, CNRS, UMR 8187—LOG—Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences, F 62930 Wimereux, France; 

An atmospheric mobile unit was implemented during a field campaign performed at a representative site of urbanized and industrialized coastal environment of the North Sea (Northern France), to study the impact of sea breeze dynamics on aerosol properties, and especially their toxicity. This unit combined aerosol samplers, two scanning lidars (Doppler and elastic), two aerosol particle sizers and an air-liquid interface (ALI, Vitrocell) in vitro cell exposure device. This study is one of the first to bring cell cultures into the field to evaluate the harmfulness of a real environmental compartment. Atmospheric toxicity in the presence or absence of sea breeze was demonstrated in human bronchial cells exposed in the field using an ALI exposure system. The study showed the sensitivity of the developed device to discriminate the mechanisms of toxic action activated when exposed to different atmospheres.

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The VITROCELL® Cloud Alpha series is our newest innovation and presents a great leap forward in automated exposure of cell cultures. It combines reliable exposure of cell cultures from the respiratory tract with ease of use. The series comprises the Cloud Alpha 6, Cloud Alpha 12, Cloud Alpha 96 and Cloud Alpha MAX – they represent an optimal solution for everyday experiments at the Air/Liquid Interface using 6-well, 12-well, 24-well or 96-sized inserts.

This video showcases available product configurations.

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