Regional deposition of inhaled ¹³⁷Cs-labeled monodisperse and polydisperse aluminosilicate aerosols in Syrian hamsters

Abstract

Two groups of eighty Syrian hamsters were exposed to aerosols of ¹³⁷Cs-labeled fused aluminosilicate particles. One group was exposed to a monodisperse aerosol with AMAD (activity median aerodynamic diameter) of 1.53 µm and σ_g (geometric standard deviation) of 1.15. The other group was exposed to a polydisperse aerosol with AMAD of 1.87 µm and σ_g of 1.46. After exposure, the hamsters were killed and carefully dissected and tissues were assayed for ’ ¹³⁷Cs to determine regional deposition of the inhaled aerosols. The relative lung deposition was similar for the two groups and was estimated as 9.5% of the inhaled aerosols. The right apical lobe consistently contained more activity and the right cardiac and right diaphragmatic lobes less activity on a per gram lung weight basis than the total lung.