Ricerc@Sapienza

Different acellular assays are currently used for the determination of the oxidative potential (OP) of particular matter (PM). In order to better understand the existing correlations between OP and the PM generated by specific emission sources, dusts generated from seven different sources (urban dust, soil, road dust, brake dust, pellet ash, coke, and desert dust) were chemically characterized and analysed using three OP assays: dithiothreitol (DTT), acid ascorbic (AA) and 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH).

In this work were selected three most important oxidative potential (OP) assays reported in the literature: the dithiothreitol (DTT), the acid ascorbic (AA) and the 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH) assays. These assays were applied to different field samples in order to identify the relations between OP values and chemical and dimensional characteristics of particles. The analysis of the soluble and insoluble fractions of dusts deriving from specific emission sources evidenced a very different behavior of the three assays.