34 / 67
32
Pilot Research Grants
Quantitative Evaluation of Organophosphate Pesticides and their
Metabolites on Edible Crops
Our hypothesis is that exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides based solelyondialkyl
phosphates (DAPs) urinary concentrations might lead to overestimation of the actual
exposure to the parent OP pesticides. DAPs are present on sprayed crops and thus the
measurement of urinary DAP concentrations reflect both direct exposure to the pesticides
and also exposure to the metabolites. The objective of this study is to quantify OPs and
DAPs in edible crops. This will enable us to estimate exposure to OP pesticides that take
into account both exposures to the parent compound and to their metabolites. Detection
of the specific metabolites will serve as an indicator of the preformation of the metabolites
on the crops. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that
the produce most highly sprayed with OP pesticides is also highly consumed - apples,
grapes, citrus fruits, tomatoes and cucumbers. Fresh samples will be analyzed.
Benny Chefetz
1
| Tamar Berman
2
Julius Ben-Ari
1
Yehoshua Maor
1
Dana Boyd Barr
3
1. The Hebrew University
of Jerusalem
2. Israel Ministry of Health
3. Emory University, USA
2013-2014
Lung-on-Chip Alveolar Models for Inhaled Particle Cytotoxicity in
Alveolar Epithelial Cells
The fate of environmentally- or occupationally-inhaled ultrafine particles (UFPs), with
diameters less than 100 nm, is drawing considerable attention due to potential health
threats that emanate from human-related industrial activities. UFPs are now known to
bypass the lung’s defense mechanisms and penetrate across alveolar tissue, ultimately
translocating into the systemic circulation. Epidemiological studies give evidence that
high concentrations of UFPs, formed by gas-to-particle conversion and incomplete fuel
combustion, may cause increased morbidity and mortality. Current nanotoxicology
approaches to investigate inhaled UFP cytotoxicity in the lungs are still limited and often
rely on UFP exposure over simple cell cultures. We are currently designing microfluidic
lab-on-chip models of the alveolated airways of the lungs in an effort to develop an in
vitro UFP exposure system of aerosol deposition on alveolar epithelial cells (AECs). Our
efforts aim at designing novel approaches towards modern cytotoxicity assays of inhaled
toxic UFPs that bypass animal models.
Research publications
(1)
Hofemeier, P., Fishler, R., & Sznitman, J. (2014). The role of respiratory flow asynchrony on convective
mixing in the pulmonary acinus.
Fluid Dynamics Research, 46
, 041407.
(2)
Mahto, S.K., Charwat, V., Ertl, P., Rothen-Rutishauser, B., Rhee, S.W., & Sznitman, J. (2014).
Microfluidic platforms for advanced risk assessments of nanomaterials.
Nanotoxicology, 22
, 1-15.
Advance online publication. doi:10.3109/17435390.2014.940402
(3)
Mahto, S.K., Tenenbaum-Katan, J., Greenblum, A., Rothen-Rutishauser, B., & Sznitman, J. (2014).
Microfluidic shear stress-regulated surfactant secretion in alveolar epithelial type II cells in vitro.
American Journal of Physiology Lung Cellular and Molecular Biology, 306
, L672-L683.
(4)
Tenenbaum-Katan, J., Fishler, R., Rothen-Rutishauser, B., & Sznitman, J. (2015). Microfluidic in vitro
platforms of pulmonary alveolar physiology.
In
IFMBE Proceedings 6th European Conference of the
International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering, Vol. 45
, 777-780. Advance online
publication. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-11128-5_193
Josué Sznitman
1
Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser
2
Peter Ertl
3
1. Technion -
Israel Institute of Technology
2. University of Fribourg, Switzerland
3. Austrian Institute of Technology,
Austria
2013-2014