Direct Exposure of Monolayers of Mammalian Cells to Airborne Pollutants in a Unique Culture System

The research was concerned with direct interaction between living mammalian cells and airborne pollutants. Mammalian cell lines were grown on cellulose ester membranes (Millipore) and exposed to test atmospheres in a specially designed system which maintained the cells in a viable state and in which pollutant concentrations were controlled and monitored. The specific tasks for this year have been to: (a) modify the exposure system to permit the use of organic vapors such as hydrazine and jet fuels; (b) measure the cytotoxic effects of mixtures of nitrogen dioxide and Ozone as well as hydrazine and jet fuels on human and animal cell lines. Effects on cell proliferation and DNA synthesis would be included; (c) Initiate studies to test the hypothesis that atmospheric oxidant gases such as N02 or 03 may react with hydrocarbon vapors, such as jet fuels, to produce toxic or mutagenic products; and (d) evaluate two cell strains from adult rat lung tissues for use in the exposure system studies. The use of organic vapors in the exposure system has been facilitated by the employment of resistant materials such as stainless steel, Teflon, and silicone rubber as appropriate. The modifications have allowed generation of atmospheres containing aircraft fuels, hydrazine, and ethylmethane sulfonate. At the present state of development, the system can be arranged for small-scale exposures to single organic compounds with the addition of either O3 or NO2.