Measurement and analysis of chemically changed mineral fibers after experiments in vitro and in vivo

Our plain-English summary of Measurement and analysis of chemically changed mineral fibers after experiments in vitro and in vivo, by K.R. Spurny (Environmental Health Perspectives, 1983).

The study

• Author: K.R. Spurny
• Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives
• Published: 1983;51:343-55
• Cited by: 21 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Asbestos, as well as other natural and man-made mineral fibers used for in vitro and in vivo experiments, must be described and defined physically and chemically as exactly as possible before any application. The interactions of fibers with the physical, chemical (air, water, etc.) and biological (cells, tissues, etc.) environments cause important changes in fiber chemistry and crystalline structure. Also, these should be detected as precisely as possible after each experiment. Our recent investigations dealt with the development of a complex analytical system for such measurements and with some applications of these analytical procedures for fibrous material sampled in the environment and from biological materials. Chemical and physical microanalyses of asbestos and glass fibers obtained by environmental sampling (air, water) and from human and animal tissue have shown chemical and crystalline changes in these particles. Scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis and mass spectrometry analysis were used in these investigations. A partial or total leakage of elements could be observed. The leakage of elements in fibers is of a statistical nature. Some fibers remained chemically unchanged; in some fibers some elements were partially leached; and in some fibers the majority of metallic elements were leached. The potential meaning of this effect is also discussed.

In plain English

This article was a short review of recent work at the author's German research institute on preparing and analyzing mineral fibers for laboratory and animal experiments. It described ways to produce size-selected fractions of UICC reference asbestos and Johns Manville glass fibers. It also described analytical techniques, including electron microscopy and single-fiber laser mass spectrometry (LAMMA). The author reported that chrysotile fibers in environmental samples, acids and living tissue were chemically unstable. Magnesium was quickly leached out, and some iron and silicon were also lost. About 300 chrysotile fibers were examined, from human lung tissue and UICC chrysotile treated with acids. The amount of leaching varied from fiber to fiber: some changed little, while others lost magnesium, iron and/or some silicon. Leaching was faster in thin fibers than in thicker ones. Glass fibers showed similar changes, including after 5 years in rabbit tissue. The author concluded that neither asbestos nor man-made mineral fibers are chemically inert when subjected to different environmental conditions or in biological liquids, and that more research is needed on these changes and their biological effects.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: short review of the author's institute's own methods-development and analytical work (laboratory fiber analysis); no disease outcomes were studied
• Who was studied: UICC Standard Reference Asbestos and Johns Manville glass fibers (MN 100 to 106), plus fibers obtained from environmental samples (air, water) and from human and animal tissue. About 300 chrysotile fibers (from human lung tissue and acid-extracted UICC chrysotile) were examined by LAMMA. The number of people or animals and the dates are not given.
• Exposure: Chrysotile, amosite and crocidolite (UICC samples), glass fibers, rock wool and fibrous erionite, examined before and after exposure to acids (e.g. 2 N HCl), alkaline solutions, water, and residence in human lung tissue and animal tissues
• Main results:
  • In chrysotile fibers from environmental samples, acids and living organisms (human lung tissue and animal lung, spleen and other tissues), magnesium was quickly leached out, and leaching of iron and silicon was also observed
  • In strong acids, whole magnesium hydroxide sheets of chrysotile were stripped away, leaving a silica skeleton
  • In about 300 chrysotile fibers (human lung tissue and acid-extracted UICC chrysotile) examined by LAMMA, the degree of corrosion varied statistically across fibers. Some showed only insignificant changes, while others had lost Mg, Fe and/or some Si.
  • Leaching was faster in thin fibers than in thicker fibers. The threshold printed is about 1.5 micrometers in diameter; the comparison symbol is unreadable in the text.
  • Where profiling along a single fiber was possible, magnesium leaching was not uniform along the fiber
  • Glass fibers underwent chemical and physical changes similar to chrysotile. They were not resistant to basic solutions, lost elements such as Na, K, Ca, Al and Zn in acids, and showed changed composition after 5 years in animal tissue (instillation experiments in rabbits).
  • LAMMA spectra were reported to be reproducible and characteristic of each fiber type, distinguishing serpentines from amphiboles. Distinguishing amosite from crocidolite seemed possible.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that neither asbestos nor man-made mineral fibers are chemically inert when subjected to different environmental conditions or in biological liquids. The author also concluded that more chemical and physical investigations are needed to understand the kinetics and biological effects of these changes.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The procedure for preparing size-selected fibers for intratracheal and intraperitoneal use still needed further work
  • The electrostatic length-fractionation method produced only a small output (about 1 mg in 24 hours)
  • The kinetics and biological effects of the chemical changes in fibers remained to be understood

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Amosite, Crocidolite.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mineral Fiber, Crystalline, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Electron Microprobe Analysis.

Related studies

• Exposure of employees to man-made mineral fibers: mineral wool production — N.A. Esmen, Y.Y. Hammad, et al. (1978)
• Solubility of asbestos and man-made mineral fibers in vitro and in vivo: its significance in lung disease — A. Morgan, A. Holmes (1986)
• Environmental measurements of total dust and fiber concentration in manufacturer and user of man-made mineral fibers — J.H. Kim, H.S. Chang, et al. (1999)
• Pulmonary cell interactions with asbestos fibers in vivo and in vitro — A.R. Brody (1986)
• The ability of mineral dusts and fibres to initiate lipid peroxidation. Part I: parameters which determine this ability — M. Gulumian (1999)
• In vitro assays to predict the pathogenicity of mineral fibers — B.T. Mossman, A.M. Sesko (1990)

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