How do particle number, surface area, and mass correlate with toxicity of diesel particle emissions as measured in chemical and cellular assays?

Abstract

Increasingly stringent particulate matter (PM) emission standards have brought forth engine design improvements, cleaner-burning fuels, and aftertreatment technologies. Reductions in tailpipe PM mass have concomitantly reduced accumulation-mode particle emissions. However, some strategies promote the emission of nucleation-mode particles, which are typically quantified on a number (PN) basis. We previously demonstrated that PN emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles equipped with various aftertreatment systems were inversely correlated, and gravimetric PM mass was positively correlated, with two in vitro assays. This present work expands on the analysis of PM mass and PN with in vitro assays to also include four additional PM metrics: suspended PM mass, active particle surface area, aggregate particle surface area, and accumulation-mode particle number. This new analysis shows that like gravimetric PM mass, suspended particle mass and accumulation mode particle number are well correlated with dithiothreitol consumption rate (DTT) and macrophage reactive oxygen species consumption rate (ROS) assays (R² = 0.61-0.96). Data suggest that PM mass emissions dominated by nucleation-mode particles induce equal or slightly greater toxicity compared to PM mass dominated by accumulation-mode particles. Data also show that among all PM metrics, those used for regulating PM in the United States and Europe, namely gravimetric mass and solid PN are overall most correlated with in vitro toxicity. Moreover, continued exploration of alternative, low-cost, and more appropriate PM metrics is warranted to better understand the reproducibility of these findings on other engine applications, fuel types, and aftertreatment platforms.

Keywords: Health effects; Metrics; Nanoparticles; Particle number; Suspended particle mass; Ultrafine particles.