Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jul 19;11(7):624.
doi: 10.3390/toxics11070624.

Characterization and Polydispersity of Volcanic Ash Nanoparticles in Synthetic Lung Fluid

Benedetto Schiavo  1 , Ofelia Morton-Bermea  1 , Diana Meza-Figueroa  2 , Mónica Acosta-Elías  3 , Belem González-Grijalva  2 , Maria Aurora Armienta-Hernández  1 , Claudio Inguaggiato  4 , Daisy Valera-Fernández  1
Affiliations

Characterization and Polydispersity of Volcanic Ash Nanoparticles in Synthetic Lung Fluid

Benedetto Schiavo et al. Toxics. .

Abstract

The inhalation of natural nanoparticles (NPs) emitted from volcanic activity may be a risk to human health. However, the literature rarely reports the fate and response of NPs once in contact with lung fluids. In this work, we studied the particle size distribution of ashfall from Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico. The collected ashes (n = 5) were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to obtain the elemental composition and morphology, and to determine the size of the ash particles using ParticleMetric software (PMS). The PMS reported most of the ash to have submicrometric size (<1 μm) and an average equivalent circle of 2.72 μm. Moreover, to our knowledge, this study investigated for the first time the behavior of ash NPs at different times (0 to 24 h) while in contact with in vitro lung fluid, Gamble Solution (GS) and Artificial Lysosomal Fluid (ALF) using dynamic light scattering (DLS). We found a large variability in the hydrodynamic diameter, with values less than 1 nm and greater than 5 μm. Furthermore, aggregation and disaggregation processes were recognized in GS and ALF, respectively. The results of this study increase the knowledge of the interaction between NPs and lung fluids, particularly within the alveolar macrophage region.

Keywords: DLS; Popocatépetl; SEM; lung fluid; nanoparticles; natural hazard; volcanic ash.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location and satellite view of Popocatépetl volcano.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) General view of particles in ash sample from SEM. Image contains particles with different sphericity, shape, size, and crystallinity. (B) Typical particle types and shapes observed in the studied ashes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
SEM image of Al- and Si-rich particles with EDS spectra.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Example of an SEM image (left) and particle count from ParticleMetric software (PMS) (right). (B) Barplot of PMS results in ash sample M3.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Analysis of the particle size distribution of ashfall samples M1, M4, and M5 by DLS at 0 to 24 h incubation in GS and ALF.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Bakshi S., He Z.L., Harris W.G. Natural Nanoparticles: Implications for Environment and Human Health. Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2015;45:861–904. doi: 10.1080/10643389.2014.921975. - DOI
    1. Taylor D.A. Dust in the wind. Environ. Health Perspect. 2002;110:A80–A87. doi: 10.1289/ehp.110-a80. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Harish V., Ansari M., Tewari D., Gaur M., Yadav A.B., García-Betancourt M.L., Abdel-Haleem F.M., Bechelany M., Barhoum A. Nanoparticle and Nanostructure Synthesis and Controlled Growth Methods. Nanomaterials. 2022;12:3226. doi: 10.3390/nano12183226. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ermolin M.S., Ivaneev A.I., Fedyunina N.N., Fedotov P.S. Nanospeciation of metals and metalloids in volcanic ash using single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Chemosphere. 2021;281:130950. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130950. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sajid M., Ilyas M., Basheer C., Tariq M., Daud M., Baig N., Shehzad F. Impact of nanoparticles on human and environment: Review of toxicity factors, exposures, control strategies, and future prospects. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2015;22:4122–4143. doi: 10.1007/s11356-014-3994-1. - DOI - PubMed