PAHs, PAH-Induced Carcinogenic Potency, and Particle-Extract-Induced Cytotoxicity of Traffic-Related Nano/Ultrafine Particles

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) bound in nano/ultrafine particles from vehicle emissions may cause adverse health effects. However, little is known about the characteristics of the nanoparticle-bound PAHs and the PAH-associated carcinogenic potency/cytotoxicity; therefore, traffic-related nano/ultrafine particles were collected in this study using a micro-orifice uniform deposition impactor (MOUDI) and a nano-MOUDI. For PM0.056−18, the difference in size-distribution of particulate total-PAHs between non-after-rain and after-rain samples was statistically significant at α = 0.05; however, this difference was not significant for PM0.01−0.056. The PAH correlation between PM0.01−0.1 and PM0.1−1.8 was lower for the after-rain samples than for the non-after-rain samples. The average particulate total-PAHs in five samplings displayed a trimodal distribution with a major peak in the Aitken mode (0.032−0.056 µm). About half of the particulate total-PAHs were in the ultrafine size range. The BaPeq sums of BaP, IND, and DBA (with toxic equivalence factors ≥0.1) accounted for ∼90% of the total-BaPeq in the nano/ultrafine particles, although these three compounds contributed little to the mass of the sampled particles. The mean content of the particle-bound total-PAHs/-BaPeqs and the PAH/BaPeq-derived carcinogenic potency followed the order nano > ultrafine > fine > coarse. For a sunny day sample, the cytotoxicity of particle extracts (using 1:1 (v/v) n-hexane/dichloromethane) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) for the nano (particularly the 10−18 nm)/ultrafine particles than for the coarser particles and bleomycin. Therefore, traffic-related nano and ultrafine particles are possibly cytotoxic.