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. 2017 Feb 7;7:42317. doi: 10.1038/srep42317

Figure 1. Atmospheric Simulation Reactor Exposure Platform (ASR) and exposure to Zn2SiO4 particles.

Figure 1

The ASR is comprised of (a) a SOA generation reactor and (b) a mouse exposure chamber: (a) SOA is generated by photooxidation of organic vapor such as naphthalene in a quartz flow tube in the presence of ozone and UV, and collected onto quartz filters as shown. SOA is then nebulized, and passed through a diffusion dryer and a gas denuder to strip the aerosol of organic solvent (e.g. methanol) and water. (b) Delivery of SOA to the mouse exposure chamber is adjusted to the desired concentrations using a dilution system, and monitored in real-time using the scanning mobility particle sizer. O3 and/or NO2 are introduced downstream of the dilutor, and adjusted to desired concentrations. SOA with and without O3 and/or NO2 are delivered to the mice using the inExpose nose-only exposure chamber. (c) The lungs of mice exposed for 2 hr with test Zn2SiO4 particles (6 × 104 particles/cm3; top image) or control filtered air (FA), explanted and immediately imaged under UV light (365 nm excitation wavelength), shows that the Zn2SiO4 particles (green), are diffusely distributed in all regions of the lung. Lungs from mice exposed to filtered air exhibit no green fluorescence (bottom image). (d) Lung slices of exposed mice were imaged using a fluorescence microscope, showing deposition of Zn2SiO4 particles (top panels) which fluorescence as green at excitation wavelength of 365 nm (far left panel) along with the walls of the alveoli (middle panel, bright-field image) in contrast to the control filtered air exposed lungs (bottom panels). Representative of 4 experiments.