In Vitro investigations of high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in winter airborne particles using simulated lung fluids

Abstract This study evaluated the bioaccessibility of 9 high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH 9 ) in airborne particulate matter (PM) by employing a physiological extraction test with simulated lung fluids [Gamble's solution and artificial lysosomal fluid (ALF)]. Airborne PM samples (PM 2.5 ) were collected during the non-heating and heating periods in Harbin, a city in Northeast China. All PAH 9 were detectable in the PM 2.5 fractions. Indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene (Ind), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF) were the most common PAH 9 species detected. After Gamble's solution extraction, PM 2.5 -bound PAH 9 bioaccessibility was significantly higher ( p 9 to be 29.1–69.8 and 141–477 cancer cases per million people during the non-heating and heating periods, respectively, while these numbers were reduced to 1.90–11.3 and 5.90–32.8 after Gamble's solution extraction (decreases of 90.7% and 92.7%) and 2.10–7.00 and 2.80–19.9 after ALF extraction (decreases of 92.6% and 97.3%). Predictions of pulmonary toxicity caused by airborne PM upon inhalation might be overestimated if the bioaccessibility and potential toxicity of PM 2.5 -bound PAH 9 are not fully evaluated.