https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106718

Rui-Wen He ^a,b, Marc M.G. Houtzager ^c, W.P. Jongeneel ^a, Remco H.S. Westerink ^b, Flemming R. Cassee ^a,b

^a National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, the Netherlands
^b Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Toxicology Division, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80177, 3508 TD Utrecht, the Netherlands
^c The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, TNO, P.O. Box 80015, 3508 TA Utrecht, the Netherlands

This unique experimental “Mini-BACS + AES” setup is able to provide steady conditions to perform in vitro exposure under ALI conditions to aircraft engine oil and hydraulic fluid fumes, generated at respectively 350 ◦C and 200 ◦C. Exposure of the Calu-3 monoculture and Calu-3 + MDM co-culture lung cell models to high levels of aircraft engine oil and hydraulic fluid fumes under ALI conditions can reduce TEER and viabilities of the cells, induce cytotoxicity, and increase production of proinflammatory cytokines. Hydraulic fluid fumes are more toxic than engine oil fumes on the mass concentration of fume basis, which may be related to higher abundance of OPs and smaller particle size of hydraulic fluid fumes. The toxicological data clearly reflect the potential health risks during fume events in aircraft cabins.

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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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For reliable aerosol exposure of cell cultures using 12- or 24-well sized inserts

The VITROCELL® 12/12 module system has been designed to facilitate the exposure of mammalian cell cultures to airborne substances such as gases, complex mixtures, nanoparticles and fibers. It features a throughput of 3 dilution steps @ 3 replicates and 1 clean air control at 3 replicates. In order to optimize the exposure for liquid aerosols and to maximize the performance of humidified air supply it is now also available in a user-friendly climatic chamber.

VITROCELL® 12/12 now available with Climatic Chamber

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