Conference Agenda

Residential wood combustion (RWC) represents a significant source of volatile organic compounds leading to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. The pulmonary toxicity of SOA formed from key precursors emitted by RWC remains poorly understood. This study aims to assess the toxicological effects of laboratory-generated SOA from day- and nighttime oxidation of PAHs and phenol on an alveolar epithelium model exposed at the air-liquid interface. Biological responses including metabolic activity, inflammation, vesicles exocytosis, genotoxicity, and gene expression have been studied. Results will contribute to understand the modulation of specific cellular mechanisms involving different cell signaling pathways depending on the SOA considered.

This study investigates the role of flavors in the toxicity of electronic cigarette (e-cig) aerosols using an in vitro alveolar model. A549 cells at the air-liquid interface were exposed to unflavored and flavored (vanillin, cinnamaldehyde, eugenol) e-cig aerosols generated under controlled conditions. Toxicological assessments revealed minor cytotoxic effects, increased IL-6 release with cinnamaldehyde, and transcriptomic and metabolomic alterations, possibly linked to xenobiotic metabolism. Eugenol exposure led to significant metabolite downregulation. While short-term exposure induced limited toxicity, flavors influenced biological responses, highlighting the need for further research on their contribution to e-cig-related health risks.

This work aims to study the association between PM oxidative potential (OP) exposure and inflammatory biomarkers in vulnerable populations in Santander (northern Spain): patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To this end, the ASTHMA-FENOP and PEREX-COPD studies were designed; PM OP (OP-AA and OP-DTT) exposure was determined in the fine and coarse fractions of PM samples collected by personal samplers, and respiratory and systemic inflammatory biomarkers were measured in the exposed volunteers (unhealthy and healthy groups). The strongest association between increased PM OP exposure and inflammation was found for the OP-DTT assay measured in the fine fraction.

Carbon fibres and CF-reinforced plastics are innovative materials, which are increasingly produced, recycled, and disposed of, possibly releasing fibres which could fulfil the criteria of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be potentially carcinogenic (critical aspect ratio > 3:1, length ≥ 5 μm and diameter ≤ 3μm). Carbon fibres were dispersed into dry air and delivered to the air-liquid interface (ALI) of human lung cells, where toxicological investigations were carried out. The deposition behaviour of the three fractions of the carbon fibre aerosol was measured on the one hand and simulated by numerical methods on the other.