Paper Title
Metal-Based Particles in Mucus and Tissue of the Inferior Nasal Turbinates from the human upper Respiratory Tract

Abstract
Background: Mucosal surfaces are the first a mechanical barrier preventing the entry of the foreign particles into the organism. Objectives: The study addresses the detection and analysis of metal-based solid particles in cytological mucus samples from the surface of human hypertrophic tissue in the inferior nasal turbinates in patients diagnosed with chronic rhinitis. Methods: Solid particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman microspectroscopy, and all the biological samples were also subjected to vibration magnetometry. Results: Since the upper airways are the first part of the respiratory tract which is exposed to inhaled particles, it can be assumed that inhaled particles may be partially deposited in this region. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the presence of solid metal-based particles/clusters in the majority of the analyzed cytological mucus samples, and also in hypertrophic tissues; in all groups the particles were of submicron size. Raman microspectros copy detected the presence of particles/clusters based on amorphous carbon, graphite, calcium carbonate, anatase, and barite only in the hypertrophic tissue. The obtained results show that the composition of some of the solid particles(i.e. Ba, Zn, Fe, and Ti) detected in the mucus from the surface of the hypertrophic tissues resembled the particles found in the hypertrophic tissue itself. Conclusion: It can be assumed that after the capture of the inhaled particles by the mucus, they may penetrate into deep layers of tissue. Keywords - Inhaled Metal Particles Inflammatory Tissue;Scanning Electron Microscopy Raman MicrospectroscopyVibration Magnetometry.