# Innovative Personal Monitoring Approaches to Characterize Ultrafine and Fine Particulate Matter and Respiratory Health Effects

> **NIH NIH R21** · RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE · 2020 · $286,490

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Evidence from experimental toxicology studies suggests that ultrafine particles (UFP) play a significant role
in particulate matter (PM) respiratory toxicity because of their high potential to transport toxicants via a large
number concentration and a large surface area per unit mass as compared with larger particles, including
PM2.5. However, the theory that UFPs confer greater respiratory health risks than larger particles has not
been validated in epidemiological settings. Experts identified the limitations of previous UFP studies,
including the absence of data for concurrent exposures to other ambient pollutants, the error in
characterizing exposure by using proxies such as fixed-site monitors or distance from roadways, and by
exposure metrics used in those studies that did not provide information about how much PM would have
been inhaled into the lungs. The proposed study intends to improve the method to assess UFPs exposures
for respiratory health effect studies by addressing previous research gaps. The proposed Project Team's
approach is to assess concurrent exposures to UFPs and other co-pollutants that can confound the UFP–
lung function relationship for asthmatic adolescents, conduct a person-level assessment of spatio-temporal
variability for each UFP and PM2.5, and apply inhaled PM doses that account for physiological process of PM
intake and contact with the lungs to preliminarily determine the degree of lung function changes affected by
UFP exposure from co-pollutants. We will apply novel exposure assessment approaches enabled by our
innovative integration of wearable PM sensors, biometric sensors, and mobile data collection tool to produce
high-quality exposure data sets that can delineate the effects of UFPs from other co-pollutants. This
approach is essential because the traditional approach of using central fixed-site data or external exposure
concentration data does not provide information about the amounts of contaminants that are inhaled by
individuals, and it significantly underestimates the respiratory responses because of the exposures. This
proposed effort will form the foundation of future work by informing of the study design and approaches to
produce robust personal exposure data to multiple pollutants and by providing preliminary data regarding the
distinct and joint effects of varying size fractions of PM and other pollutants on lung function by using
innovative exposure metrics. Increased knowledge about the respiratory effects from UFPs will subsequently
guide future environmental health policies, air pollution management strategies and control technologies,
and interventions and clinical monitoring to reduce the burden of asthma.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9894543
- **Project number:** 1R21ES030142-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Seung-Hyun Cho
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $286,490
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-19 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9894543

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9894543, Innovative Personal Monitoring Approaches to Characterize Ultrafine and Fine Particulate Matter and Respiratory Health Effects (1R21ES030142-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9894543. Licensed CC0.

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