Urs Baltensperger

Results of the "Carbon Conference" International Aerosol Carbon Round Robin Test Stage I

Abstract An international round robin test on the analysis of carbonaceous aerosols on quartz fiber filters sampled at an urban site was organized by the Vienna University of Technology. Seventeen laboratories participated using nine different thermal and optical methods. For the analysis of total carbon (TC), a good agreement of the values obtained by all laboratories was found (7 and 9% r.s.d.) with only two outliers in the complete data set. In contrast the results of the determination of elemental carbon (EC) in two not pre-extracted samples were highly variable ranging over more than one order of magnitude and the relative standard deviations (r.s.d.) of the means were 36.6 and 45.5%. The laboratories that obtained similar results by using methods which reduce the charring artifact were put together to a new data set in order to approach a “real EC” value. The new data set consisting of the results of 10 laboratories using seven different methods showed 16 and 24% lower averages and r.s.d. of 14 and 24% for the two not pre-extracted samples. Taking the current filters as “equivalents” for urban aerosol samples we conclude that the following methods can be used for the analysis of EC in carbonaceous aerosols: thermal methods with an optical feature to correct for charring during pyrolysis, two-step thermal procedures reducing charring during pyrolysis, the VDI 2465/1 method (removal of OC by solvent extraction and thermodesorption in nitrogen) and the VDI 2465/2 method (combustion of OC and EC at different temperatures) with an additional pre-extraction with a dimethyl formamide (DMF)/toluene mixture. Only thermal methods without any correction for charring during pyrolysis and the VDI 2465/2 method were outside the range of twice the standard deviation of the new data set. For a filter sample pre-extracted with the DMF/toluene mixture the average and r.s.d. from all laboratories (20.7xa0μgC; 24.4% r.s.d.) was very similar as for the laboratory set reduced to 10 laboratories (20.6xa0μgC; 19% r.s.d.). Thus DMF pre-extraction appears to improve the performance of the thermal methods without charring during pyrolysis control, e.g. the VDI 2465/2 methods.

Seasonal variation of high‐molecular‐weight compounds in the water‐soluble fraction of organic urban aerosols

[1]xa0Aerosol samples were collected in Zurich, Switzerland, at an urban background site and were analyzed with size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and laser/desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) for water-soluble organic compounds with high molecular weight. Daily samples were collected during two campaigns in winter and summer, for 1 month each. The concentration of high-molecular-weight compounds (humic-like substances (HULIS)) was between 0.4 and 4 μg/m3 in winter and summer. The most intense signals in the LDI-MS mass spectra were measured between m/z150 and 500, comparing well with the mode of the two main high mass peaks determined with SEC corresponding to masses between 200 and 600 Da. For the maximum molecular weight, however, different results were obtained by the two techniques: whereas a maximum molecular weight between 1300 and 3300 Da was found with SEC, hardly any peaks above m/z700 were measured with LDI-MS. During summer the maximum molecular weight of HULIS (determined with SEC) correlates positively with several parameters such as ozone and increased temperature indicative of enhanced atmospheric photo-oxidation. The HULIS concentration also correlates positively with the oxalic acid concentration in the particles. This suggests that HULIS are generated by secondary processes in summer. The lack of such correlations during winter suggests that other sources and processes might be important during colder seasons.

Toxicity of aged gasoline exhaust particles to normal and diseased airway epithelia

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is a leading cause of premature death, particularly in those with pre-existing lung disease. A causative link between particle properties and adverse health effects remains unestablished mainly due to complex and variable physico-chemical PM parameters. Controlled laboratory experiments are required. Generating atmospherically realistic aerosols and performing cell-exposure studies at relevant particle-doses are challenging. Here we examine gasoline-exhaust particle toxicity from a Euro-5 passenger car in a uniquely realistic exposure scenario, combining a smog chamber simulating atmospheric ageing, an aerosol enrichment system varying particle number concentration independent of particle chemistry, and an aerosol deposition chamber physiologically delivering particles on air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures reproducing normal and susceptible health status. Gasoline-exhaust is an important PM source with largely unknown health effects. We investigated acute responses of fully-differentiated normal, distressed (antibiotics-treated) normal, and cystic fibrosis human bronchial epithelia (HBE), and a proliferating, single-cell type bronchial epithelial cell-line (BEAS-2B). We show that a single, short-term exposure to realistic doses of atmospherically-aged gasoline-exhaust particles impairs epithelial key-defence mechanisms, rendering it more vulnerable to subsequent hazards. We establish dose-response curves at realistic particle-concentration levels. Significant differences between cell models suggest the use of fully-differentiated HBE is most appropriate in future toxicity studies.