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Ultrafine Airborne Particle Deposition and Clearance in an Avian Lung under Ecologically Relevant Conditions

Garcia Dominguez, Susana LU orcid ; Jönsson, Linnéa LU ; Nord, Andreas LU orcid ; Preger, Calle LU orcid ; Messing, Maria LU ; Isaksson, Caroline LU orcid and Rissler, Jenny LU orcid (2026) In Environmental Science & Technology 60(35). p.24591-24603
Abstract
Air pollutants, such as particulate matter, are known to contribute to disease in humans, but their impact on wildlife remains understudied. A contributing factor to this health impact is the fraction of inhaled particles depositing in the respiratory system. Compared to humans, birds are equipped with a very different respiratory system, which may render them more or less susceptible to air pollution. Although evidence for adverse pollution effects in birds has emerged, little is known about particle dynamics inside the avian lungs. To elucidate this, we exposed zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to ambient-like ultrafine model particles under controlled conditions and quantified deposition in the lungs and, in a smaller subset, also the... (More)
Air pollutants, such as particulate matter, are known to contribute to disease in humans, but their impact on wildlife remains understudied. A contributing factor to this health impact is the fraction of inhaled particles depositing in the respiratory system. Compared to humans, birds are equipped with a very different respiratory system, which may render them more or less susceptible to air pollution. Although evidence for adverse pollution effects in birds has emerged, little is known about particle dynamics inside the avian lungs. To elucidate this, we exposed zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to ambient-like ultrafine model particles under controlled conditions and quantified deposition in the lungs and, in a smaller subset, also the heart, liver and red blood cells. Birds were exposed to 50 or 100 nm particles at air temperatures of 5 or 25 °C, all of which fall within environmentally relevant exposure conditions. Lung deposition was highest for the smallest particles, in line with the size dependence of particle diffusion rate. While deposited fraction in the lung remained unaffected, deposited dose rate (DR) increased at the lower temperature, indicating that the effect was driven solely by elevated minute ventilation (oxygen consumption). Particle clearance measurements 2 weeks after exposure revealed that 44% of the initially deposited 100 nm particles remained in the avian lungs. We found no evidence that particles translocated to the heart, liver or red blood cells in the analyzed subsets. These findings provide an ecologically relevant foundation for understanding particle exposure dynamics in an avian model and support future work assessing health effects of particulate pollution in birds. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Birds, Inhalation exposure, Lund deposition, Particulate matter, Avian respiratory system
in
Environmental Science & Technology
volume
60
issue
35
pages
13 pages
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:42708941
ISSN
1520-5851
DOI
10.1021/acs.est.6c05957
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
58772b98-30f1-4138-88ee-b2a33ef3c77b
date added to LUP
2026-09-11 07:54:10
date last changed
2026-09-14 12:26:29
@article{58772b98-30f1-4138-88ee-b2a33ef3c77b,
  abstract     = {{Air pollutants, such as particulate matter, are known to contribute to disease in humans, but their impact on wildlife remains understudied. A contributing factor to this health impact is the fraction of inhaled particles depositing in the respiratory system. Compared to humans, birds are equipped with a very different respiratory system, which may render them more or less susceptible to air pollution. Although evidence for adverse pollution effects in birds has emerged, little is known about particle dynamics inside the avian lungs. To elucidate this, we exposed zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to ambient-like ultrafine model particles under controlled conditions and quantified deposition in the lungs and, in a smaller subset, also the heart, liver and red blood cells. Birds were exposed to 50 or 100 nm particles at air temperatures of 5 or 25 °C, all of which fall within environmentally relevant exposure conditions. Lung deposition was highest for the smallest particles, in line with the size dependence of particle diffusion rate. While deposited fraction in the lung remained unaffected, deposited dose rate (DR) increased at the lower temperature, indicating that the effect was driven solely by elevated minute ventilation (oxygen consumption). Particle clearance measurements 2 weeks after exposure revealed that 44% of the initially deposited 100 nm particles remained in the avian lungs. We found no evidence that particles translocated to the heart, liver or red blood cells in the analyzed subsets. These findings provide an ecologically relevant foundation for understanding particle exposure dynamics in an avian model and support future work assessing health effects of particulate pollution in birds.}},
  author       = {{Garcia Dominguez, Susana and Jönsson, Linnéa and Nord, Andreas and Preger, Calle and Messing, Maria and Isaksson, Caroline and Rissler, Jenny}},
  issn         = {{1520-5851}},
  keywords     = {{Birds; Inhalation exposure; Lund deposition; Particulate matter; Avian respiratory system}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{35}},
  pages        = {{24591--24603}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{Environmental Science & Technology}},
  title        = {{Ultrafine Airborne Particle Deposition and Clearance in an Avian Lung under Ecologically Relevant Conditions}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c05957}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/acs.est.6c05957}},
  volume       = {{60}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}