Exposure of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) towards lung leads to pulmonary dysfunctions and various lung diseases. However, the interaction of VOCs with pulmonary surfactant (PS) that directly comes into contact with inhaled VOCs is unknown. Here, simulated PS extracted from porcine lungs (EPS) was used to study the interaction with BTEX (i.e., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and p -xylene) as representatives of VOCs. Surface pressure-area (π-A) isotherms showed that in the presence of individual BTEX, EPS monolayer’s phase conversion from gas to liquid expanded phase was dramatically influenced and its collapse pressure decreased greatly compared to those of EPS alone, which was attributed to the alteration of EPS monolayer’s microstructure characterized by atomic force microscopy and Brewster angle microscopy. Solubilization experiments manifested that EPS and its major components (dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, DPPC; bovine serum albumin, BSA) exhibited obvious solubilization effects on individual BTEX. The solubilization capacity followed an order: EPS > DPPC > BSA, which was positively correlated with hydrophobicity of individual BTEX. Synergistic solubilization test unveiled that the mixed phospholipid components were largely responsible for the solubilization capacity of EPS. These findings indicate that VOCs exposure may induce potential pulmonary health risk due to the alteration of gas-liquid interfacial properties of PS.
Yan Li,Lu Lai,Ping Mei,Sheng-Jin Li,Li Cheng,Zhao-Hua Ren,Yan-Cheng Zheng,Yi Liu
The equilibrium and dynamic surface properties of cationic/anionic surfactant mixtures of carboxylate gemini surfactant (CGS12) and quaternary ammonium salts with different alkyl chain lengths were investigated, and the synergistic properties and solubilization capacity toward phenanthrene of these mixtures were evaluated. Results show that all cationic/anionic surfactant mixtures exhibit negative interaction parameters, indicating the strong synergistic effects in the reduction of surface tension and the formation of micelles. When the mixing ratio is 1:1, the surface tension reaches the minimum value. Moreover, as the alkyl chain length increases, the interaction parameters become more negative. In addition, the thermodynamic parameters suggest that the formation of mixed micelles is exothermic with a positive change in entropy. The tendency of dynamic surface tension curves of these mixtures is similar to that of pure CGS12. At the same concentration, these mixtures exhibit a higher adsorption rate than pure surfactants, and a lower adsorption potential barrier than cationic surfactants. However, for the CGS12/stearyltrimethylammonium bromide mixture, the drop rate constant of surface tension is lower than that of either component. Compared with the pure surfactant solutions, the cationic/anionic surfactant mixtures exhibit higher solubilization capacity toward phenanthrene. As the length of the alkyl chain increases, the solubilization capacity of the mixed cationic/anionic surfactant increases.
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