Every breath you take: High concentration of breathable microplastics in indoor environments.

The widespread presence of microplastics (MPs) in the air and their potential impact on human health underscore the pressing need to develop robust methods for quantifying their presence, particularly in the breathable fraction (<5 µm). In this study, Raman micro-spectroscopy (µRaman) was employed to assess the concentration of indoor airborne MPs >1 µm in four indoor environments (a meeting room, a workshop, and two apartments) under different levels of human activity. The indoor airborne MP concentration spanned between 58 and 684 MPs per cubic meter (MP m-3) (median 212 MP m-3, MPs/non-plastic ratio 0-1.6%), depending not only on the type and level of human activity, but also on the surface area and air circulation of the investigated locations. Additionally, we assessed in the same environments the filtration performance of a type IIR surgical facemask, which could overall retain 85.4 ± 3.9% of the MPs. We furthermore estimated a human MP intake from indoor air of 3415 ± 2881 MPs day-1 (mostly poly-amide MPs), which could be decreased to 283 ± 317 MPs day-1 using the surgical facemask. However, for the breathable fraction of MPs (1-5 µm), the efficiency of the surgical mask was reduced to 57.6%.

It matters how we measure - Quantification of microplastics in drinking water by µFTIR and µRaman.

The water treatment for microplastics (MP) at a Danish groundwater-based waterworks was assessed by Fourier-Transform IR micro-spectroscopy (µFTIR) (nominal size limit 6.6 µm) and compared to results from Raman micro-spectroscopy (µRaman) (nominal size limit 1.0 µm) on the same sample set. The MP abundance at the waterworks' inlet and outlet was quantified as MP counts per cubic metre (N/m3) and estimated MP mass per cubic metre (µg/m3). The waterworks' MP removal efficiency was found to be higher when analysing by µFTIR (counts: 78.14 ± 49.70%, mass: 98.73 ± 11.10%) and less fluctuating than when using µRaman (counts: 43.2%, mass: 75.1%). However, both techniques pointed to a value of ∼80% for the counts' removal efficiency of MPs >6.6 µm. Contrarily to what was shown by µRaman, no systematic leaking of MPs from the plastic elements of the facility could be identified for the µFTIR dataset, either from the counts (inlet 31.86 ± 17.17 N/m3, outlet 4.98 ± 2.09 N/m3) or mass estimate (inlet 76.30 ± 106.30 µg/m3, outlet 2.81 ± 2.78 µg/m3). The estimation of human MP intake from drinking water calculated from the µFTIR data (5 N/(year·capita)) proved to be approximately 332 times lower than that calculated from the µRaman dataset, although in line with previous studies employing µFTIR. By merging the MP length datasets from the two techniques, it could be shown that false negatives became prevalent in the µFTIR dataset already below 50 µm. Further, by fitting the overall frequency of the MP length ranges with a power function, it could be shown that µFTIR missed approximately 95.7% of the extrapolated MP population (1-1865.9 µm). Consequently, relying on only µFTIR may have led to underestimating the MP content of the investigated drinking water, as most of the 1-50 µm MP would have been missed.

Cellular interactions of functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles on oligodendrocytes without detrimental side effects: Cell death induction, oxidative stress and inflammation.

Iron oxide nanoparticles have the capability to cross Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) and hence are widely investigated for biomedical operations in the central nervous system. Before being used for the biomedical purpose, it is necessary to investigate its biocompatibility, dosimetry and biological interaction. In the present study, in-house synthesized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) were functionalized using the polymer, PolyEthylene Glycol (PEG) and a fluorophore (Rhodamine). The interaction of these nanoparticles with murine oligodendrocytes 158N was studied using different assays. The nanoparticles were taken up by the cells via endocytosis and there was a dose-dependent increase in the intracellular iron content as revealed by flow cytometry, transmission electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. Nanoparticles remained stable inside cells even after 24 h. Cell sorting capacity using a magnet depended on the number of particles interact per cell. SPIONs exhibited good biocompatibility as no toxicological responses, including morphological changes, loss of viability, oxidative stress or inflammatory response (IL-1ß, IL-6 secretion) were observed. Together, these data show that the in-house synthesized SPIONs have no side effects on 158N cells, and constitute interesting tools for biomedical applications across brain, including cellular imaging and targeting.

In vitro interaction and biocompatibility of titanate nanotubes with microglial cells.

Titanate nanotubes (TiONts) are promising agents for biomedical applications. Microglial activation and associated oxidative burst are major challenges in drug delivery applications across the brain. Here, TiONts were designed for drug delivery systems by functionalizing them with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES), their interactions and biocompatibility were studied in vitro using murine microglial BV-2 cells. TiONts-APTES exposure resulted in increased ROS production and transient mitochondrial hyperpolarization. However, there was no indication of microglial proliferation in BV-2 cells as suggested by cell cycle analysis and morphology evaluation. The endocytosis as well as passive diffusion mediated TiONts-APTES internalization were proved by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with and without amiloride, an endocytosis inhibiting agent. In addition, the TiONts-APTES exhibited good biocompatibility on microglial BV-2 cells as revealed by the plasma membrane integrity, lysosmal membrane integrity, morphology and viability analysis.

Characterization of liposome-containing SPIONs conjugated with anti-CD20 developed as a novel theranostic agent for central nervous system lymphoma.

Despite advances in neuroscience cancer research during the past decades, the survival of cancer patients has only marginally improved and the cure remains unlikely. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a major obstacle protecting the entry of therapeutic agents to central nervous system, especially for primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). Thus, the use of small nanoparticle as a drug carrier may be new strategies to overcome this problem. In this study, we fabricated liposome consisting of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) functionalized with anti-CD20 (Rituximab; RTX). The designed nanoparticles have a theranostic property which is not only to improve drug delivery, but also to offer diagnostic and monitoring capabilities. TEM images revealed the spherical shape of liposome with the approximately average diameters about 140-190nm with slightly negatively charge surfaces. Superparamagnetic property of SPIONs-loaded liposomes was confirmed by VSM. Liposome colloidal could be prolonged at 4°C and 25°C storages. RTX conjugated liposome induced cell internalization and apoptosis effect in B-lymphoma cells. Drug targeting and therapeutic effect was investigated in BBB model. The result confirmed that liposome nanocarrier is required as a drug carrier for effectively RTX across the BBB.

Easy route to functionalize iron oxide nanoparticles via long-term stable thiol groups.

The functionalization of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs) by meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) was investigated. Under ambient conditions, the thiol groups from DMSA are not stable and do not allow a direct functionalization without storage in stringent conditions or a chemical regeneration of free thiols. In this study, we have developed a protocol based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) grafting of SPIO prior to DMSA anchoring. We have observed that PEG helps to increase the stability of thiol groups under ambient conditions. The thiol functionalized SPIOs were stable under physiological pH and ionic strength as determined by Ellman's essay and allowed us to graft a thiol reactive fluorescent dye: tetramethylrhodamine-5-maleimide (TMRM).

[West Nile virus infection: serological investigation among horses in France and in Africa]. / Infection par le virus West Nile: enquêtes sérologiques sur des chevaux en France et en Afrique.

This study was carried out in 2003 to detected serological evidence of West Nile virus infection in 190 Army horses kept nearby French troops stationed in Southeast France and in Africa (Chad, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal). Both IgG and IgM antibodies were searched for using an ELISA assay. Specifiity of IgG antibodies was determined by western blot and plaque reduction seroneutraization. Finding showed that 79% of the Army horses (n=96) tested in Africa presented specific IgG antibodies. All horses that were seropositive for IgG were seronegative for IgM. None of the Army horses (n=94) tested in the Southeast France were seropositive for West Nile virus. This study indicates that West Nile virus has circulated in all three African countries but not recently. It also underscores the value of western blotting as a rapid, specific confirmation technique that could eliminate the need to use plaque reduction seroneutralization.