Head of the Laboratory – Lugovskyi Sergiy Pavlovych
The laboratory is organized in 2017 on the basis of two existing Laboratories in the Institute: "Medical-biological criteria of occupational exposure" and "Toxicology of aerosols and occupational health in welding production".
The Laboratory "Medico-Biological criteria of occupational exposures" was founded in 1985, by combining Laboratories of biochemistry and pathomorphology and an immunology group.
The Laboratory of biochemistry was organized in the Institute in 1928. In different years, its leaders were well-known scientists G. F. Polak (1931-1936), N. M. Petrun (1954-1965), V.A. Ostroukhova (1965-1968).
The Laboratory of pathomorphology was organized in 1964. In different years its leaders were experienced specialists in the field of clinical and experimental pathology O.I.Makovskaya, Dr.med.sci. (1964-1965) and M.B.Rappoport (1965-1973). From 1994 to 2013, the Laboratory was headed by V.A. Stezhka, Dr.biol.sci., and from 2014 until today- Lugovskyi S.P., Dr.med.sci.
The Laboratory "Toxicology of aerosols and occupational health in welding production" was created in the Institute in 1952 at the initiative of the Director of the Institute Academician Yu.I. Kundiyev, supported by the President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine - Academician B.Ye. Paton. The heads of the Laboratory in different years were: V.A. Kisilenko, Dr.med.sci. (1952-1954, O.I. Makovskaya, Dr.med.sci. (1954-1960), І.Т. Brakhnova, Dr.med.sci (1960-1972), L.M. Gorban, Cand.med.sci.(1978-2004), and in recent years, from 2005 to 2017 - O.V. Demetska, Cand.biol.sci.
Today, the personnel potential of the Laboratory includes 2 Doctors and 3 Candidates of sciences, 3 research workers without a degree, 1 leading engineer and 2 postgraduate students - who are studying (one of them - on the job) in the specialty " Occupational health and occupational pathology ".
The main areas of scientific elaborations of the Laboratory are:
• studying characteristics of disorders in the oxidative homeostasis by indices of the activity of processes of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant defense in the action of harmful chemicals on the body;
• investigation of toxic effects of welding aerosols with different content of heavy metals on the body (iron, manganese, chromium, nickel, copper, etc.), in order to ground the safety of new types of welding materials, developed in the E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine;
• studying the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles / nanomaterials in working conditions of employees for assessing their hazard when introducing new materials and technologies, developed with the use of nanotechnologies;
• substantiation of new methodical approaches to hygienic regulation of nanomaterials in the working zone air;
The interdisciplinary approach to solving scientific problems in the field of
nanobiodanger ensures close creative links between the Laboratory and other scientific institutions and organizations of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medical Sciences and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
The main partners of the laboratory are:
- E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine;
- V.M. Glushkov Institute of Cybernetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Department of sensory devices, systems and technologies for the contactless diagnostics);
- SI "Institute of Gerontology named after D.F. Chebotarev of the NAMS of Ukraine» (Laboratory of morphology and cytology);
- Limited Company “Nanotechnology in medicine” (Laboratory of electronic microscopy);
- State Enterprise "Ukrainian Research Institute of Transport Medicine of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine" (Department of Occupational Health and Toxicology);
On the basis of the comprehensive immunological, biochemical and morphological studies there have been developed pathogenetically conditioned criteria for early diagnosis of the immunotoxic effect of heavy metals, biological markers of exposure, and biological action of lead compounds and other heavy metals on the body.
Toxicological and hygienic research has allowed to reveal the leading chains in the pathogenesis of the general toxic effect of welding aerosols of different chemical composition on laboratory animals.
The methodology on hygienic regulation of aerosols has been developed, sanitary standards of maximum permissible concentrations of manganese, chromium, nickel, fluorine-containing welding aerosols for the working zone air are substantiated.
Methods of express evaluation of biological activity of welding aerosols on the cell culture, as well as their carcinogenic activity on animals in experiments, have been developed.
For the first time, the ability of NPs of highly dispersed amorphous silica with dimensions of 6-7 and 54-55 nm to penetrate into the body through the lungs and to cause a membrane-toxic damaging effect on liver and kidney tissues, has been proved. It is determined that the important part in the pathogenesis of the influence is the activation of lipid peroxidation, which leads to disorders of prooxidant-antioxidant balance in the body.
The morpho-functional criteria of the effect of PbS nanoparticles of various sizes on undamaged skin have been developed. These data are innovative and provide the basis for determining the mechanism of their toxic action and ways of entering the body for substantiation of hygienic standards.