Articles | Volume 26, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-3237-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-3237-2026
Research article
 | 
03 Mar 2026
Research article |  | 03 Mar 2026

Controlled chamber formation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) aerosols with Pseudomonas fluorescens: size distributions, effects, and inhalation deposition potential

Ivan Kourtchev, Steve Coupe, Alison Buckley, Jishnu Pandamkulangara Kizhakkethil, Elena Gatta, Dario Massabò, Paolo Prati, Virginia Vernocchi, and Federico Mazzei

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Cited articles

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Alves, A. V., Tsianou, M., and Alexandridis, P.: Fluorinated Surfactant Adsorption on Mineral Surfaces: Implications for PFAS Fate and Transport in the Environment, Surfaces, 3, 516–566, https://doi.org/10.3390/surfaces3040037, 2020. 
Anjilvel, S. and Asgharian, B.: A Multiple-Path Model of Particle Deposition in the Rat Lung, Fundam. Appl. Toxicol., 28, 41–50, https://doi.org/10.1006/faat.1995.1144, 1995. 
Barber, J. L., Berger, U., Chaemfa, C., Huber, S., Jahnke, A., Temme, C., and Jones, K. C.: Analysis of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances in air samples from Northwest Europe, J. Environ. Monit., 9, 530–541, https://doi.org/10.1039/B701417A, 2007. 
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This study examined how a range of forever chemicals enter the air when aerosolised from contaminated solutions, with & without bacteria-seed (bioaerosol). The way these chemicals were aerosolised was key to their behaviour in air and their inhalation relevance, as they mainly formed tiny particles that reach deep in the lungs. The bacterium had little effect, suggesting the chemicals are unlikely to be removed by bioaerosol, enabling long range transport and contributing to inhalation exposure.
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