Fate and toxic effects of inhaled ultrafine cadmium oxide particles in the rat lung.

Female Fischer 344 rats were exposed to ultrafine cadmium oxide particles, generated by spark discharging, for 6 h at a concentration of 70 μg Cd/m3 (1× 106/cm3) (40 nm modal diameter). Lung morphology and quantification of Cd content/concentration by inductively coupled plasma (ICP)–mass spectrometry were performed on days 0, 1, 4, and 7 after exposure. Cd content in the lung on day 0 was 0.53± 0.12 μg/lung, corresponding to 19% of the estimated total inhaled cumulative dose, and the amount remained constant throughout the study. In the liver no significant increase of Cd content was found up to 4 days. A slight but statistically significant increase was observed in the liver on day 7. We found neither exposure-related morphological changes of lungs nor inflammatory responses in lavaged cells. Another group of rats were exposed to a higher concentration of ultrafine CdO particles (550 μg Cd/m3 for 6 h, 51 nm modal diameter). The rats were sacrificed immediately and 1 day after exposure. The lavage study ...