TOXICOKINETICS OF INHALED BENZO[a]PYRENE: Plasma and Lung Bioavailability

• Published in: Inhalation toxicology 2001, Vol.13 (6), p.533-553
• Main Author: Aramandla Ramesh, Michael Greenwood, Frank Inyang, Darryl B. Hood
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0895-8378; 1091-7691
• DOI: 10.1080/08958370118859

Bioavailability and toxicokinetic studies are essential in order to establish dose-response relationships of widely distributed environmental toxicants such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. Fischer 344 rats were exposed for 4 h (via nose-only inhalation) to aerosol exposure concentrations of 0.1, 1.0, and 2.5 mg/m3 of BaP absorbed onto carbon black particles using a state-of-the-art model aerosol generation system. Nominal and chamber concentrations of the particulate aerosol were determined gravimetrically with a seven-stage cascade impactor. The average aerosol for the 3 exposure concentrations used in this study exhibited a trimodal distribution with 93% cumulative mass less than 15.85 µm, 89% cumulative mass less than 10 µm, 55.3% cumulative mass less than 2.5 µm, and 38% less than 1 µm. Fifty-five percent of the aerosol had a cumulative mass less than PM2.5