Abstract

Exposure to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is a leading global health risk. Despite extensive studies, it remains unclear as to what components or characteristics of PM best account for its toxicity. In vitro assays, including acellular and cellular assays, are widely used for PM toxicity evaluation. Acellular assays typically aim at assessing the oxidative potential (OP) of PM and linking OP to health endpoints. Cellular assays allow for elucidating the mechanisms of cellular signaling, response, and damage upon exposure to PM and linking cellular readouts to PM properties. Given the extraordinary chemical complexity and diversity of PM, there is a pressing need to efficiently evaluate OP and cellular response for PM emitted from different sources and formed under a variety of environmental conditions. Yet, current technologies are still not capable of high‐throughput, high‐content, and high time-resolution analysis, as well as mimicking physiologically relevant conditions. Microfluidic techniques are a valuable alternative technology to address some of the current challenges. In this article, we review the recent advances in applying microfluidic techniques for both cellular and acellular assays and discuss their advantages compared to conventional formats. Finally, we provide a prospective outlook on the future directions and challenges of using microfluidic techniques for in vitro toxicity studies of atmospheric PM.

Copyright © 2021 American Association for Aerosol Research

摘要

暴露于大气颗粒物（PM）是全球领先的健康风险。尽管进行了广泛的研究，但是关于哪种成分或特征最能说明其毒性尚不清楚。体外检测，包括脱细胞和细胞检测，被广泛用于PM毒性评估。脱细胞分析通常旨在评估PM的氧化电位（OP），并将OP与健康终点联系起来。细胞分析可阐明暴露于PM时细胞信号传导，反应和损伤的机制，并将细胞读数与PM特性联系起来。鉴于PM的非凡化学复杂性和多样性，迫切需要有效评估OP和细胞响应，以分析从不同来源发出并在各种环境条件下形成的PM。但是，当前的技术仍无法进行高通量，高含量和高时间分辨率的分析，并且无法模拟生理上相关的条件。微流体技术是解决当前一些挑战的有价值的替代技术。在本文中，我们回顾了将微流体技术应用于细胞和非细胞分析的最新进展，并讨论了它们与常规形式相比的优势。最后，我们对使用微流控技术的未来方向和挑战提供了前瞻性的展望。大气PM的体外毒性研究。

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