An in vitro study of the biologic responses of surface-modified and native silica and kaolin was made to provide comparative information on the suppression of cytotoxicity by pulmonary surfactant. The release of alveolar macrophage cytoplasmic enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and lysosomal enzymes beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (beta-NAG) and beta-glucuronidase (beta-GLUC) and sheep blood-cell hemolysis were monitored as indicators of cell membrane damage and cytotoxicity. Surface modification of silica and kaolin with dipalmitoyl lecithin (DPL) resulted in complete abrogation of cytotoxicity of both minerals. These findings indicate that surface modification of minerals with different adsorption properties by pulmonary surfactant generally lessens their prompt adverse effects.