Fig. 3
Absorption of TiO2 particles into the blood stream. a- Grading of the frequency of discrete particulate reflectance in blood smears by dark field microscopy following ingestion of 100 mg TiO2 capsules (n = 5 subjects). Data are plotted as mode (column) and individual grades (closed circles). * p < 0.05 and **p < 0.01 vs time point 0, two-tailed paired t test. b- Total Ti levels (ppb) measured by ICP-MS in the same blood samples as above with two further subjects (total seven). Data are represented as mean +/− SEM. *p < 0.05 and **p < 0.01 vs time point 0, two-tailed paired t test. c- Correlation between reflectance grades and total Ti levels in blood for the five complete subjects only. Pearson correlation p = 0.0058 and r = 0.5803