In vivo monitoring of fine dust models using fluorescent particles

Research Summary

There is growing concern about the effects of fine dust, which is well known to be harmful to the human body, and in particular, smaller particles called ultra-fine dust and nano-fine dust on the human body. The toxicity of fine dust is influenced by the surrounding environment and can have unpredictably diverse and dangerous effects on the living body.
In this study, fluorescent silica-based particles were designed with nano- and microparticles as a model dust, injected into the intratrachea of mice, and the in vivo behavior of the particles was monitored over time.
It was observed that the injected nanoparticles move rapidly to other organs in about 2 days, and it was confirmed that they remained in the body for a longer period of time than large-sized particles.

Expected Outcomes

Research results show that fine dust can migrate through the lungs to other organs. This can help identify the cause of diseases that can be affected by fine dust toxicity. If a model material according to various physical characteristics such as the shape of fine dust and adsorbed toxic substances is produced and information on biodistribution patterns is accumulated, it is also possible to predict the effect of fine dust on the human body in various forms depending on the region.

Related Figures

[Figure 1] Schematic diagram of the movement path of inhaled particles

[Figure 2] In vivo/ex vivo biodistribution imaging study of nanoparticles(left) or microparticles(right) injected mice