Method for measuring the oxidation potential of samples, in particular aerosols, equipment for the implementation thereof and use of same for on-line analysis of air quality

1 . A method for measuring the oxidative potential (OP) of a test environment, comprising:

collecting a sample from said test environment,

mixing said test sample or a fraction thereof with an artificial lung fluid sample, so as to obtain a liquid test sample,

conducting one or a plurality of parallel oxidative potential quantification tests on said liquid test sample,

determining the oxidizing potential of said test environment,

wherein the method is conducted in an automated manner at the site of collection of said test sample, said method not including intermediate extraction of the collected sample, and leads to the determination of the OP in real-time.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising after the sampling step and before the mixing step, a step of fractionating the test sample into a gas fraction and/or a particulate fraction.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the artificial lung sample is a Gamble environment, optionally supplemented, with dipalmitoylphospatidylcholine (DPPC).

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the test(s) for quantifying the oxidizing potential is (are) chosen from tests measuring the consumption by a test sample of an antioxidant species.

5 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the antioxidant species is selected from the group consisting of ascorbic acid (AA), dithiothreitol (DTT), dichlorofluorescein (DCFH), gluthatione (GSH), and RTLF (respiratory tract lining fluid) mixture.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the method carries out the OP quantification test by measuring the depletion of ascorbic acid (AA) and the depletion of dithiothreitol (DTT).

7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the method is carried out under physiological conditions.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the mixing of the test sample or of a fraction thereof with the artificial lung fluid is carried out by nebulization.

9 . A method of determining air pollution or emissions of gases and/or particles, said method comprising:

implementing the method according to claim 1 , using a test sample taken from ambient atmospheric air or emissions of gases and/or particles to be tested; and

correlating the OP obtained with the air quality or toxicity of the tested environment.

10 . An instrument for implementing a method for measuring the oxidative potential (OP) of a test environment according to claim 1 , comprising:

a module for collecting a test sample from the test environment;

a chamber for nebulizing the test sample or a fraction thereof with an artificial lung fluid sample, so as to form a liquid test sample;

at least one test module configured for reacting the liquid test sample obtained with a reagent;

a module for measuring the depletion of said reagent; and

a module for calculating the OP.

11 . The instrument according to claim 10 , further comprising a system configured for feeding the test module(s):

with the liquid test sample from an outlet of the nebulizing chamber,

with a reagent from a reagent storage tank.

12 . The instrument according to claim 10 , further comprising a plurality of test modules in parallel, each test module being configured for reacting the liquid test sample with a respective reagent.

13 . The instrument according to claim 10 , wherein said module for measuring the depletion of said reagent comprises an optical measurement module.

14 . The instrument according to claim 10 , further comprising a system configured for circulating a wash solution through the test module(s).