Pulmonary Toxicity, Distribution, and Clearance of Intratracheally Instilled Silicon Nanowires in Rats

Figure 7

Chemiluminescence, an index of oxidant production, was measured in cells recovered by BAL from rats 1, 3, 7, 28, and 91 days after intratracheal instillation with 10 (Si 10), 25 (Si 25), 50 (Si 50), 100 (Si 100), or 500 (Si 500) μg Si NW or dispersion medium control (DM): (a) total phagocyte (neutrophils and AMs) chemiluminescence depicted as total counts per 15 min for total BAL cells after stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), (b) AM chemiluminescence depicted as total counts per 15 min for total BAL AMs after stimulation with nonopsonized zymosan. *significantly greater than all groups within a time point; ^#significantly greater than DM, Si 10, Si 25, and Si 50; ^~significantly greater than DM and Si 25; ^∧significantly greater than DM and Si 10; values are means ± standard error (𝑛=8 DM, 𝑛=4 Si NW; 𝑃<0.05).

(a)

(b)