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The effect of chemical modification of quartz surfaces on particulate-induced pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in the mouse.

One of the critical steps in the development of crystal-induced lung diseases is thought to be the interaction of crystal surfaces with cell membranes. The effect of chemical modifications of the surface of alpha-quartz on the development of lung disease has been investigated by treating quartz with various organosilanes. The functional groups attached to the quartz surfaces were (-CN), (-CH3), (-NH2), and -(N(CH3)3+). After intratracheal injection of each modified crystal at a constant surface area into mice, pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis were assessed 6 wk postexposure to the crystals by lung wet weight (lung index) and by the level of hydroxyproline in the lung. The crystals showing the highest degree of biologic activity were native quartz, which has a negative charge, -N(CH3)3+ modified quartz, which has a positive charge, and -CN modified quartz, which has no charge. One of the crystals with chemical groups capable of hydrogen bonding, the -NH2 modified quartz, was as unreactive as the crystal preparation modified with a hydrophobic group, -CH3. If the -CH3 and -NH2 modified quartz are compared as a less reactive group with the more reactive native quartz and -N(CH3)3+ modified quartz, these experiments suggest that electrostatic interactions may be more important in determining effective biologic activities than are hydrogen bonding interactions.