Effect of exposure temperature on the cell membrane disruption induced by amorphous silica nanoparticles in erythrocytes,lymphocytes, and malignant melanocytes

It is of great significance to examine carefully the potentially harmful effects of silica-based nanoparticles (NPs) on human body. In the present study, we have investigated the impact of exposure temperatures (4 °C, 15 °C, 26 °C, and 37 °C) on the cell membrane disruption induced by amorphous silica NPs of different primary diameters (28, 55, 88, 156, and 461 nm) in three different types of cells (erythrocytes, Jurkat, and B16F10), where the serum-free culture media were employed for exposure of the cells to the silica NPs. The size- and dose-dependent membranolytic activity of the silica NPs in each cell type at every temperature appeared to be given by a master curve as a function of the NP surface area per suspension volume, regardless of the NP diameter. This silica-induced membranolysis was significantly enhanced by the higher-temperature exposure of each cell type to the silica NPs. Such effects of exposure temperature on the silica-induced membranolysis in non-adherent cells of RBC and Jurkat were quite similar to each other, regardless of their difference in the presence/absence of nucleus and endocytic ability, whereas that for adherent cells of B16F10 was more remarkable. The filterability of erythrocytes also was measured at different temperatures, whereby the effect of temperature on the deformability of cell membranes was estimated. A possible mechanism underlying the effect of exposure temperature on the silica-induced membranolysis was proposed.     

Biosensor enhanced by glucose oxidase biomimetic membrane containing the platinum and silica nanoparticles

In this paper, glucose biosensor is fabricated with immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) in platinum and silica sol. The glucose biosensor combined with Pt and SiO₂ nanoparticles could make full use of the properties of nanoparticles. A set of experimental results indicates that the current response for the enzyme electrode containing platinum and silica nanoparticles increases from 0.32 µA cm^− 2 to 33 µA cm^− 2 in the solution of 10 mM β-D-glucose. The linear range is 3 × 10^− 5 to 3.8 × 10^− 3 M with a detection limit of 2 × 10^− 5 M at 3σ. The effects of the various volume ratios of Pt and SiO₂ sols with respect to the current response and the stability of the enzyme electrodes are studied.     

Multifunctional iron and iron oxide nanoparticles in silica

Iron and iron oxide nanoparticles in silica layers deposited by sol–gel techniques on Si wafers were formed and studied. It was shown that multifunctional nanoparticles of different iron oxides possessing various physical properties can be fabricated by means of post-growth annealing of (SiO₂:Fe)/SiO₂/Si samples in various atmospheres. The hematite, maghemite, and iron nanoparticles were found to be dominant upon annealing the samples in air, argon, and hydrogen atmosphere, respectively. The physical properties of produced hybrid structures were studied by Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, AFM, and magnetic measurements. The sol–gel technique with subsequent annealing procedure is demonstrated to be an effective method for the formation of multifunctional hybrid structures composed of iron or iron oxide nanoparticles in silica matrix.     

Quantification and characterization of C-S-H in silica nanoparticles incorporated cementitious system

This paper presents the quantification and nanomechanical properties of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), formed at early stage hydration of tricalcium silicate (major cement phase) in presence of silica nanoparticles (SNPs). SNPs showed dominant nucleation effect at 8 h and pozzolanic effect at 24 h and accelerate the hydration rate (∼83% at 8 h and ∼51% at 24 h) due to the formation of additional C-S-H nuclei. Further, ²⁹Si-NMR and FTIR techniques showed the acceleration in polymerization of silicate chain leading to the formation of tobermorite like structure. Formation of polymerized and crystalline C-S-H gel in presence of SNPs increases the percentage of high density C-S-H (∼40%) and lowers the low density C-S-H (∼52%) at 24 h of hydration, as observed in nanoindentation results.     

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of puerarin-loaded PEGylated mesoporous silica nanoparticles

Puerarin, which is extracted from Chinese medicine, is widely used in China and mainly used as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Owing to its short elimination half-life in human beings, frequently intravenous administration of high doses of puerarin may be needed, which possibly leads to severe and acute side effects. The development of an effective sustained-release drug delivery system is urgently needed. In this study, PEGylated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (PEG-MSNs) had become a preferred way to prolong the half-life and improve the bioavailability of drugs. The release of puerarin from PEG-MSNs was pH dependent, and the release rate was much faster at lower pH than that at higher pH. Moreover, the PEG-MSNs exhibited improved blood compatibility over the MSNs in terms of low hemolysis, and it could also reduce the side effect of hemolysis induced by PUE. Compared with puerarin, PUE-loaded PEG-MSNs showed a 2.3-fold increase in half-life of puerarin and a 1.47-fold increase in bioavailability. Thus, the PEG-MSNs hold the substantial potential to be further developed as an effective sustained-release drug delivery system.     

Dispersion of amorphous silica nanoparticles via beads milling process and their particle size analysis,hydrophobicity and anti-bacterial activity

In this present work, amorphous silica is synthesized by simple solution method using sodium silicate (Na₂SiO₃) as raw material. The synthesized silica is dispersed in various dispersing agent obtained from local paint industry and used for painting application. XRD analysis revealed the existence of amorphous silica with a peak at 2θ value of 23° and the SEM analysis exemplified silica nanoparticles demonstrating spherical morphology with agglomeration. Different dispersing agents (as indicated by the codes given by paint industry) were used for the dispersion of SiO₂ by beads milling process and its effects were studied. Among the several dispersing agents used amorphous silica dispersed in SND 504 (Sodium salt of polymeric carboxylic acid with water) dispersing agent exhibit better dispersion compared to the other dispersing agents. Further, 10 wt% of SND 504 dispersing agent was optimized with the particle size to 384 nm and zeta potential value of −24.69 mV. The contact angle measurement of the dispersed silica reveals the superior hydrophobic behaviour of SiO_2, especially with 10 wt% SND 504 dispersing agent. The critical surface tension of SiO₂ with 10 wt% SND 504 dispersing agent reveal low value compared to other concentration of dispersant. Thus, the dispersed silica nanoparticles with enhanced hydrophobicity can be effectively used for painting applications as fillers. Silica dispersed in 10 wt% SND 504 dispersing agent show superior anti-bacterial activity compared to the bare silica which is also reported.     

Antimicrobial peptides and induced membrane curvature: Geometry,coordination chemistry,and molecular engineering

Short cationic, amphipathic antimicrobial peptides are multi-functional molecules that have roles in host defense as direct microbicides and modulators of the immune response. While a general mechanism of microbicidal activity involves the selective disruption and permeabilization of cell membranes, the relationships between peptide sequence and membrane activity are still under investigation. Here, we review the diverse functions that AMPs collectively have in host defense, and show that these functions can be multiplexed with a membrane mechanism of activity derived from the generation of negative Gaussian membrane curvature. As AMPs preferentially generate this curvature in model bacterial cell membranes, the selective generation of negative Gaussian curvature provides AMPs with a broad mechanism to target microbial membranes. The amino acid constraints placed on AMPs by the geometric requirement to induce negative Gaussian curvature are consistent with known AMP sequences. This ‘saddle-splay curvature selection rule’ is not strongly restrictive so AMPs have significant compositional freedom to multiplex membrane activity with other useful functions. The observation that certain proteins involved in cellular processes which require negative Gaussian curvature contain domains with similar motifs as AMPs, suggests this rule may be applicable to other curvature-generating proteins. Since our saddle-splay curvature design rule is based upon both a mechanism of activity and the existing motifs of natural AMPs, we believe it will assist the development of synthetic antimicrobials.     

Low turn-on and high efficient oxidized amorphous silicon nitride light-emitting devices induced by high density amorphous silicon nanoparticles

The role of amorphous silicon nanoparticles (a-Si NPs) in electroluminescent characteristics of oxidized amorphous silicon nitride (a-SiN_x:O) light-emitting devices (LEDs) has been studied. A-Si NPs with a high density of 1 × 10¹² cm^− 2 are formed in the a-SiN_x:O films after rapid thermal annealing at 900 °C for 40 s. A notably enhanced electroluminescence (EL) is obtained from the a-Si-in-SiN_x:O devices and the EL peak position can be tuned from red to green-yellow by controlling the forward voltage. Compared to EL of the a-SiN_x:O device, the turn-on voltage can be reduced to 3 V and the EL power conversion efficiency can be almost six times higher. The improved performance of the LEDs is ascribed to the effective carrier injection due to introduction of high density a-Si NPs.     

Ag-Cu离子注入SiO2玻璃后形成纳米颗粒的研究

Ag、Cu离子经200和110keV加速后分别以5×1016和1.5×1017ions /cm2的剂量在室温下先后注入到非晶SiO2玻璃中.注入后样品的光学吸收谱显示两个吸收峰,其峰位为407和569nm,分别对应单独Ag和单独Cu纳米颗粒的等离子体共振吸收峰,样品在还原-保护气氛下退火后吸收峰峰强明显增加.样品的透射电镜选区电子衍射花样含有Ag、Cu两套衍射环,透射电镜的明场像观察到大量的纳米颗粒呈现出中心亮斑特征.在样品倾转过程中,中心亮斑特征依然存在,证实这种现象是离子辐照产生的纳米空位团簇.扫描透射电子显微镜高角环形暗场像进一步证实了这一点.综上所述,样品中形成了单Ag和单Cu包裹空位团簇的纳米颗粒.     

Structural, optical, and nonlinear optical absorption/refraction studies of the manganese nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation in ethanol

The structural, optical, and nonlinear optical properties of the manganese nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation in various liquids were investigated using the 532 and 1064 nm, 50 ps laser pulses. The TEM and spectral measurements showed temporal dynamics of size distribution of Mn nanoparticles in solutions. The nonlinear absorption (β = 2 × 10⁻¹⁰ and 4 × 10⁻¹¹ cm W⁻¹) and positive nonlinear refraction (γ = 8 × 10⁻¹⁵ and 2 × 10⁻¹⁴ cm² W⁻¹) of picosecond radiation were observed in the Mn colloidal suspensions using the 1064 and 532 nm radiation, respectively     

Fabrication of solid lipid nanoparticles of lurasidone HCl for oral delivery: optimization,in vitro characterization,cell line studies and in vivo efficacy in schizophrenia

Objective: The aim of the present investigation was to investigate the efficacy of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) to enhance the absorption and bioavailability of lurasidone hydrochloride (LH) following oral administration.

Methods: The LH loaded SLNs (LH-SLNs) were prepared by high pressure homogenization (HPH) method, optimized using box Behnken design and evaluated for particle size (PS), entrapment efficiency (EE), morphology, FTIR, DSC, XRD, in vitro release, ex vivo permeation, transport studies across Caco-2 cell line and in vivo pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies.

Results: The LH-SLNs had PS of 139.8?±?5.5?nm, EE of 79.10?±?2.50% and zeta potential of ?30.8?±?3.5?mV. TEM images showed that LH-SLNs had a uniform size distribution and spherical shape. The in vitro release from LH-SLNs followed the Higuchi model. The ex vivo permeability study demonstrated enhanced drug permeation from LH-SLNs (>90%) through rat intestine as compared to LH-suspension. The SLNs were found to be taken up by energy dependent, endocytic mechanism which was mediated by clathrin/caveolae-mediated endocytosis across Caco-2 cell line. The pharmacokinetic results showed that oral bioavailability of LH was improved over 5.16-fold after incorporation into SLNs as compared to LH-suspension. The pharmacodynamic study proved the antipsychotic potential of LH-SLNs in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Conclusion: It was concluded that oral administration of LH-SLNs in rats improved the bioavailability of LH via lymphatic uptake along with improved therapeutic effect in MK-801 induced schizophrenia model in rats.     

Sharp cubic and octahedral morphologies of poly(vinylpyrrolidone)-stabilised platinum nanoparticles by polyol method in ethylene glycol: their nucleation,growth and formation mechanisms

Pt nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesised by a modified polyol method with the addition of silver nitrate. The results showed that the specific shapes of Pt NPs were influenced by the relevant factors, which are the contents of silver nitrate, synthetic time and temperature. A small content of silver nitrate has played an important role in determining their final shapes of platinum NPs. We observed that Pt NPs in the forms of very sharp shapes such as Pt cubes, octahedrons, cuboctahedrons and tetrahedrons have been obtained. In addition, the shape growth mechanisms and formation of Pt NPs have been studied. They exist in both cubic and octahedral shapes. Importantly, Pt nanocrystals can grow into main cubic and octahedral shapes for a short time less than 15?min. Moreover, Pt nanocrystals can also grow into different shapes from cubic and octahedral into spherical ones for several hours. Especially, they exhibited interesting shapes of multiple-branched Pt nanostructures because of their overgrowth and aggregations. Clearly, large cubic and octahedral Pt NPs of 160?nm diameter were observed. The growth and formation of large cubic and octahedral Pt NPs were due to the aggregation of Pt clusters or initial Pt seeds, even small Pt nanocrystals.     

Reduction, aggregation and physicochemical properties of silver nanoparticles in propan-2-ol:cyclohexane mixtures induced by a high energy electron beam

Radiolytic reduction of silver and gold ions and subsequent formation of their aggregates have been studied in propan-2-ol:cyclohexane mixture using pulse radiolysis technique. The silver sol, produced on irradiation of Ag⁺ solution with a train of electron pulses, has been characterized using XRD and TEM. The size of the particles has been found to be in the range of 30-50 nm. The silver sol emit light with a maximum at 340 nm on irradiation with a high energy electron beam. The intensity of emission has been found to decrease with decrease in concentration of Ag particles. Formation of colloidal gold has also been observed on irradiation of NaAuCl₄ solution in propan-2-ol:cyclohexane by train of electron pulses. The particles so formed are oxidized on exposure to air. No light emission has been observed from Au sol.