Study of the asbestos bodies and chemical-physical modification of mineral fibres in rat histological tissues using scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy
Accepted: 12 March 2018
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This work presents a systematic FEG-SEM and HR-TEM characterization of the morpho-chemical characteristics of both asbestos bodies and fibres found in the tissues of Sprague Dawley rats after an intrapleural injection of UICC chrysotile, UICC crocidolite and erionite from Jersey, Nevada (USA). The characterization of the fibrous materials and asbestos bodies within the organic tissues, were performed using a FEI Nova NanoSEM 450 FEG-SEM located at the CIGS (Centro Interdipartimentale Grandi Strumenti) of University of Modena. Parts of histological tissue were dissolved, and the mineral fibres recovered were subsequently analysed with a FEI TECNAI G2 200kv TEM located at The Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, and with a JEOL ARM 200F TEM located at National Institute of Chemistry of Ljubljana. The combination of both scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, allowed to study in detail the structural and morpho-chemical changes that occurred in the three mineral fibres that remains in contact with the organic medium for different residence time. Notwithstanding, the results of this study may help to better understand the mechanism of formation of asbestos bodies and why do they do not form on the fibrous erionite specimen used for this study. No major change in term of crystal habit, crystallinity and chemistry of all fibre species were observed during the contact time with the organs of rats, except for chrysotile which shows signs of leaching of Mg. This analytical approach allowed to study in detail the structural and morpho-chemical changes that occurred in the three mineral fibres, that remains in contact with the organic medium for different residence time.
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