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EPMA and XRF characterization of therapeutic cave aerosol particles and their deposition in the respiratory system
Author(s) -
Alföldy B.,
Török Sz.,
Balásházy I.,
Hofmann W.,
WinklerHeil R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
x‐ray spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.447
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1097-4539
pISSN - 0049-8246
DOI - 10.1002/xrs.588
Subject(s) - cave , deposition (geology) , aerosol , electron microprobe , particle (ecology) , mineralogy , particle size , chemistry , geology , geography , archaeology , geomorphology , oceanography , organic chemistry , sediment
Cave therapy is an efficient therapeutic method to cure asthma, but the exact healing effect has not yet been clarified. This study was motivated by the basic assumption that aerosols may play a key role in cave therapy. Aerosol particles were collected in a therapeutic cave in Budapest, Hungary (Szemlöhegyi cave) at different locations arranged for the therapeutic treatment. Samples were further analysed by EPMA and XRF for chemical composition and morphology, determining the particle number distribution and classifying them according to their elemental composition. Three particle classes were determined based on major element concentrations: aluminosilicate, quartz and calcium carbonate. The combination of single‐particle EPMA and XRF resulted in relevant chemical information that could be used further for lung deposition modelling, namely the diameter and the number distribution to calculate the deposition probability, and the concentration of the element within a particle class necessary for the estimation of the deposited dose. The final results for the health effect study are the deposition efficiencies and deposition patterns of inhaled cave aerosols. The results of the stochastic deposition model showed that roughly 41% of the inhaled particles are deposited in the lung. From this amount, around 39% are deposited within airway generations 6–15, which is the most infected area in an asthmatic lung. The explanation of the healing effects might be based on the presented dose calculations. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.