Lipid peroxidation in the membrane damaging effect of silica-containing dust on rat lungs.

Rats were injected intratracheally with a single dose of 50 mg silica (DQ-12) suspended in 0.5 ml saline. The animals were sacrificed at 3, 6, 12 and 21 days following exposure, and the rate of lipid peroxidation as well as the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase were measured in the lung tissue.