Addressing the presence of rutile nanoparticles (NPs) in the air is a work in progress, and the development of methodologies for the identification of NPs in atmospheric dust is essential for the assessment of its toxicological effects. To address this issue, we selected the fast growing desertic city of Hermosillo in northern Mexico. Road dust (n = 266) and soils (n = 10) were sampled and bulk Ti-contents were tested by portable X-ray fluorescence. NPs were extracted from atmospheric dust by PM_1.0-PTFE filters and further characterized by Confocal Raman Microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) coupled to Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Results showed (i) the average concentration of Ti in road dust (3447 mg kg⁻¹) was similar to natural values and worldwide urban dusts; (ii) the bulk geochemistry was not satisfactory for Ti-NPs identification; (iii) 76% of the total extracted PM_1.0 sample corresponded to NPs; (iv) mono-microaggregates of rutile NPs were identified; (v) ubiquitous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were linked to NPs. The genotoxicity of rutile and PAHs, in connection with NPs content, make us aware of a crucial emerging environmental issue of significant health concern, justifying further research in this field.

解决空气中金红石型纳米颗粒（NPs）的问题仍在进行中，开发用于鉴定大气尘埃中NPs的方法学对于评估其毒理作用至关重要。为了解决这个问题，我们选择了墨西哥北部快速发展的沙漠城市埃莫西约。对道路灰尘（n = 266）和土壤（n = 10）进行了采样，并通过便携式X射线荧光测试了大块Ti的含量。通过PM _1.0 -PTFE过滤器从大气尘埃中提取NP，并通过共聚焦拉曼显微镜，能量色散X射线光谱（EDS）耦合到透射电子显微镜（TEM）和扫描电子显微镜（SEM）进行表征。结果显示（i）道路灰尘中的平均Ti浓度（3447 mg kg ^-1）与自然价值和全球城市尘埃相似；（ii）整体地球化学对Ti-NPs的鉴定并不令人满意；（iii）提取的总PM _1.0样品中有76％对应于NP。（iv）鉴定出金红石NP的单微聚集体；（v）普遍存在的多环芳烃（PAH）与NP连接。金红石和PAHs的遗传毒性与NPs的含量有关，使我们意识到了与健康有关的新出现的至关重要的环境问题，因此有必要在该领域进行进一步的研究。