Biosolubility of high temperature insulation wools in simulated lung fluids

OBJECTIVE: Biosolubility is an important parameter in the understanding of mechanisms involved in pulmonary toxicity of fibrous materials. It can be studied in vitro using models of simulated lung fluids and observing the loss of structural molecules, expressed as dissolution constant (K(dis)). The aim of this paper was the study of dissolution behaviour of four wools belonging to high temperature insulation wools (HTIW) in saline solutions simulating lung fluids. METHODS: Four HTIW were studied in saline solutions at pH 7.4 (representative of the extracellular environment) and 4.5 (representative of the intracellular conditions): refractory ceramic fibers (RCF), two alkaline earth silicate wools (AES1 and AES2 with high calcium and magnesium content respectively), and polycrystalline wools (PCW). Size, morphological and chemical changes of fibers were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). RESULTS: RCF, AES2 and PCW did not show statistically significant diameter changes. AES1 size distribution shifted to a larger mean diameter suggesting that through dissolution there was a preferential loss of thin fibers at acid pH after 14 days of treatment. Both AES wools showed selective leaching of alkali/alkali earth oxides (incongruent dissolution) at pH 7.4: a fast and extensive selective leaching of calcium for AES1 with complete dissolution of fibers already after 14 days of treatment and a moderate selective leaching of magnesium for AES2. PCW showed some transversal breakage of the fibers in both pH environments (low congruent dissolution). For RCF, the treatment produced uncorroded fibers in both pH environments without chemical changes and fiber fragmentation (no dissolution). The estimated K(dis) at physiological pH followed the sequence: AES1 > AES2 > PCW > RCF. All wools had a low K(dis) at acid pH suggesting a low dissolution rate of short fibers. CONCLUSION: The leaching process and transverse fragmentation play an important role in the biopersistence mechanisms and pathogenicity of fibers and the K(dis) estimate is undoubtedly useful as a preliminary toxicological screening of fibers, especially for developing fibers.