Inhalation of gaseous hypochlorous acid and its effect on human respiratory epithelial cells in laboratory model systems

During the disinfection of indoor spaces using gaseous hypochlorous acid (HOCl ), inhalation is the most common route of exposure for humans. In this study, an artificial human respiratory tract model was exposed to 12-140 ppb HOCl at an aspiration flow rate of 800 mL/s for 15 h in a 1 m chamber. The respiratory tract model was equipped with 5th order bronchi and all gas-contact parts were made of silicone rubber with no other chlorine-consuming substances. The concentration of HOCl reaching the lung pseudo-space was approximately 47.4% of the HOCl concentrations in the chamber and was calculated to be very close to zero when the chamber concentration was less than 20.5 ppb. The disappearance of HOCl during inhalation is likely due to the adsorption of HOCl on the gas-contact silicone rubber surfaces. The cytotoxicity of HOCl on respiratory epithelial cells was also examined using human air-liquid-interface airway tissue models. Human nasal epithelium and bronchiolar epithelium were exposed to 100 ppb and 500 ppb HOCl for 8 h and 5 d, respectively. No significant effects of HOCl on cell viability and ciliary activity were observed in any cell type, indicating that low concentrations of HOCl , less than 500 ppb, had no cytotoxic effect.