Different biological effects of PM2.5 from coal combustion, gasoline exhaust and urban ambient air relate to the PAH/metal compositions

• Published in: Environmental toxicology and pharmacology Vol. 69; pp. 120 - 128
• Main Authors: Cui, Xiuqing, Zhou, Ting, Shen, Yan, Rong, Yi, Zhang, Zhihong, Liu, Yuewei, Xiao, Lili, Zhou, Yun, Li, Wei, Chen, Weihong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.07.2019; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Biological effects; Cadmium; Coal; Coal combustion; Combustion; Correlation analysis; Cytotoxicity; Exhaust gases; Gasoline; Gasoline exhaust; Health hazards; Health risks; Heavy metals; Inflammation; Metals; Particulate matter; PM2.5; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Principal components analysis; Thallium; Urban ambient air; Zinc; Coal combustion; Urban ambient air; Gasoline exhaust; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Metals; PM2.5
• ISSN: 1382-6689; 1872-7077
• DOI: 10.1016/j.etap.2019.04.006

•PM2.5 from coal combustion, gasoline exhaust and urban ambient air was collected.•Contents of PAHs and metals and biological effects of PM2.5in vitro were evaluated.•Coal combustion PM2.5 induced stronger biological effects.•PAHs with four or more rings in PM2.5 contributed much to the biological effects.•Cadmium, thallium, zinc and lead in PM2.5 closely related to the biological effects. Few studies have compared the biological effects of PM2.5 from coal combustion, gasoline exhaust and urban ambient air, and the roles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals playing in the process remain unclear. In this study, PM2.5 samples from coal combustion, gasoline exhaust and urban ambient air were analyzed for 16 PAHs and 23 metals. Cytotoxic and inflammatory effects of different PM2.5 were evaluated on differentiated THP-1 and A549 cells, respectively. We found that the coal combustion PM2.5 samples induced stronger cytotoxic and inflammatory effects (p < 0.05). Pearson’s correlation and principal component analysis showed that the PAHs containing four or more benzenoid rings and specific metals of cadmium, thallium, zinc and lead were positively related to the biological effects. Our results suggested that coal combustion PM2.5 might be a more serious health hazard. Specific PAHs and metals might be account for the PM2.5 induced biological effects.