Inhaled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can deposit in the deep lung, where they interact with pulmonary surfactant (PS) to form coronas, potentially altering the fate and toxicity profile of CNTs. However, the presence of other contaminants in combination with CNTs may affect these interactions. Here, we used passive dosing and fluorescence-based techniques confirm the partial solubilization of BaPs adsorbed on CNTs by PS in simulated alveolar fluid. MD simulations were performed to elucidate the competition of interactions between BaPs, CNTs, and PS. We found that PS play two opposing roles in altering the toxicity profile of the CNTs. First, the formation of PS coronas reduce CNTs’ toxicity by decreasing the hydrophobicity of the CNTs and decreasing their aspect ratio. Second, the interaction with PS increases the bioaccessibility of BaP through interactions with PS, which may exacerbate the inhalation toxicity of CNTs. These findings suggest that the inhalation toxicity of PS-modified CNTs should consider the bioaccessibility of coexisting contaminants, with the CNT size and aggregation state playing an important role.

吸入的碳纳米管（CNT）可以沉积在肺部深处，在那里它们与肺表面活性剂（PS）相互作用形成冠，可能改变碳纳米管的命运和毒性特征。然而，其他污染物与碳纳米管的结合可能会影响这些相互作用。在这里，我们使用被动剂量和基于荧光的技术证实了模拟肺泡液中 PS 吸附在 CNT 上的 BaP 的部分溶解。MD 模拟的目的是阐明 BaP、CNT 和 PS 之间相互作用的竞争。我们发现 PS 在改变碳纳米管的毒性方面发挥着两种相反的作用。首先，PS冠的形成通过降低疏水性来降低CNT的毒性碳纳米管并降低其纵横比。其次，与 PS 的相互作用通过与 PS 的相互作用增加了 BaP 的生物可及性，这可能会加剧 CNT 的吸入毒性。这些发现表明，PS 修饰的 CNT 的吸入毒性应考虑共存污染物的生物可及性，其中 CNT 的尺寸和聚集状态起着重要作用。