Re-assessing the toxicity of particles from biodiesel combustion: A quantitative analysis of in vitro studies

Abstract Biofuels may reduce road transport carbon intensity; however, it is uncertain whether displacing fossil diesel would alter the engine-derived particulate toxicity. The primary objective of this work was to determine whether there is a fuel effect on the comparative in vitro toxicity of biodiesel exhaust particulates relative to those from fossil diesel. A secondary aim was to determine qualitatively whether the observed outcome is related to the organic phase, namely Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). In vitro and acellular exposure studies were recovered from a literature survey following the PRISMA framework. Biological responses attributable to biodiesel and paired fossil diesel particles, including particle-extracts were selected. To qualify for inclusion, either of the paired responses must differ statistically significantly (p