Estudio de genotoxicidad del material particulado (PM10) de la zona urbana del cantón Cuenca

Abstract

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) are composed of a variety of genotoxic substances capable of endangering human health.The aim of this investigation was to determine the chemical characteristics of a PM10 solution. We collected samples from three monitoring sites within the city of Cuenca, and evaluated its genotoxicity by measuring DNA damage using unicellular electrophoresis assay (comet assay) in alveolar epithelial cells A549. Deionized water solution was used to determine the chemical composition of the PM10. Anions and heavy metals were analyzed using the ion chromatography techniques and atomic absorption spectroscopy respectively.A549 epithelial cell cultures, donated by the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology from the Technical University of Loja, were exposed to different concentrations (0.82, 1.25 and 1.63 m3/ml) of the water-soluble PM10 solution. Our results indicate slow genotoxicity (Type I) in all three monitoring sites, which could be a health risk to the exposed population of the city of Cuenca.