Toxicity of PAMAM-coated gold nanoparticles in different unicellular models.

Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers are used for many pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. However, the toxicological risks of several PAMAM-based compounds are still not fully evaluated, despite evidences of PAMAM deleterious effects on biological membranes, leading to toxicity. In this report, we investigated the toxicity of generation 0 PAMAM-coated gold nanoparticles (AuG0 NPs) in four different models to determine how different cellular systems are affected by PAMAM-coated NPs. Toxicity was evaluated in two mammalian cell lines, Neuro 2A and Vero, in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the bacteria Vibrio fischeri. AuG0 NP treatments reduced cell metabolic activity in algal and bacterial cells, measured by esterase enzymatic activity (C. reinhardtii) and luminescence emission (V. fischeri). EC50 value after 30 min of treatment was similar in both organisms, with 0.114 and 0.167 mg mL(-1) for C. reinhardtii and V. fischeri, respectively. On the other hand, AuG0 NPs induced no change of mitochondrial activity in mammalian cells after 24 h of treatment to up to 0.4 mg mL(-1) AuG0 NPs. Change in the absorption spectra of AuG0 NP in the mammalian cell culture media may indicate an alteration of NP properties that contributed to the low toxicity of AuG0 NPs in mammalian cells. For a safe development of PAMAM-based nanomaterials, the difference of sensitivity between mammalian and microbial cells, as well as the modulation of NPs toxicity by medium properties, should be taken into account when designing PAMAM NPs for applications that may lead to their introduction in the environment.

Formation and reactivity of 3-diazopyridinium cations and influence on their reductive electrografting on glassy carbon.

The in situ generation of 3-diazonium cations from 3-aminopyridine and their subsequent stability under experimental conditions used for electrografting of pyridine groups were investigated by spectroscopy and electrochemistry. UV spectroscopy revealed the rapid kinetics for the reaction of 3-aminopyridine with sodium nitrite in HCl to form the 3-diazopyridinium cation with a second-order rate constant of 550 ± 20 L mol(-1) s(-1) at 22 °C. UV spectroscopy showed that the 3-diazopyridinium ion was relatively unstable and its transformation into 3-hydroxypyridine was proven by (1)H NMR. Its hydrolytic decomposition was investigated by NMR and followed first-order kinetics with a rate constant of (53 ± 5) × 10(-3) s(-1) at 22 °C. These results enable us to establish the appropriate conditions for the electrografting of pyridine from the corresponding diazonium cations generated in situ. The electrochemical modification of glassy carbon electrodes with pyridine was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and the resulting grafted layer by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in the presence of Fe(CN)(6)(3-/4-) as redox probes. The effect of diazotization time before electrochemical reduction on the blocking effect of the grafted layer was investigated and showed that an increase of the diazotization time led to less efficient grafting. The presence of immobilized pyridine on the electrode surface was demonstrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, and a surface coverage of 8.8 × 10(-10) mol cm(-2) was estimated for the grafted pyridine groups. The significance of these results for researchers using the in situ generation approach for electrochemical and chemical grafting is discussed.

Interaction of gold nanoglycodendrimers with algal cells (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) and their effect on physiological processes.

With the rise of nanotechnologies, the risk of contamination of aquatic ecosystems with nanoparticles is increasing. Glycodendrimer-coated gold nanoparticles have been developed for biomedical applications; however, their effect on microalgae has never been studied. In this report, their interactions with algae were investigated using two strains of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a wild type having cell wall and a cell wall-deficient mutant. Cultures were exposed 48 h to 6 and 12 ng ml⁻¹ of gold nanoparticles coated with mannose generation 0 polyamidoamine dendrimer. Culture aggregation was found only for wild type cells, probably because of interactions between mannose and cell wall glycoproteins. Nanoparticles penetrated cytoplasm in both strains; however, inhibition of algal growth and photosynthetic activity was found only in the wild type. We conclude that nanoparticles' deteriorating effect in algae is caused by interactions with the cell wall, causing an aggregation of cell culture, and not by nanoparticle penetration inside the cytoplasm.

Fabrication and characterization of laser pulled platinum microelectrodes with controlled geometry.

The development of a reproducible procedure for the fabrication of Pt disk-shaped microelectrodes with characteristic dimensions ranging from 50 nm to 1 µm in diameter was carried out using a laser pulling technique. The governing physical phenomena involved in their fabrication are discussed, and the importance of adding a critical quartz thinning step in the general procedure is demonstrated. The preparation of the microelectrodes involves sealing a platinum wire inside a quartz tubing using a pipet puller, thinning the composite material (platinum/quartz assembly), and laser pulling it to obtain two microelectrodes. The resulting microelectrodes display reproducible well-controlled geometry, which is important to downstream quantitative scanning electrochemical studies and imaging. Mechanical polishing of the microelectrode is required and remains the critical step in the fabrication of nanometer size electrodes. Following production, the microelectrodes are characterized by electron microscopy, scanning electrochemical microscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. Development of these microelectrodes is motivated by their subsequent application to electrocatalysis and their potential in theoretical study because of their well-defined geometry.

Detection of hydrogen peroxide produced during the oxygen reduction reaction at self-assembled thiol-porphyrin monolayers on gold using SECM and nanoelectrodes.

Porphyrin molecules were immobilized on polycrystalline gold and glassy carbon by coordinating cobalt(II) 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphine to a 4-aminothiophenol self-assembled monolayer. The resulting electrocatalytic activity of the metalloporphyrin-modified substrates with regard to the oxygen reduction reaction was characterized by means of cyclic voltammetry and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) using nanoelectrodes of well-defined geometry. From substrate generation tip collection (SG-TC) mode SECM measurements performed under steady-state conditions and at different applied substrate potentials, it is possible to extract kinetic information relevant to electrocatalyst substrates such as metalloporphyrin-modified gold and glassy-carbon electrodes. Such an approach allows for the isolation of the unique contribution of the electrocatalyst to the oxygen reduction reaction and peroxide formation.

Effect of core-shell copper oxide nanoparticles on cell culture morphology and photosynthesis (photosystem II energy distribution) in the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

The effect of core-shell copper oxide nanoparticles with sizes smaller than 100 nm on cellular systems is still not well understood. Documenting these effects is pressing since core-shell copper oxide nanoparticles are currently components of pigments used frequently as antifouling paint protecting boats from crustacean, weed and slime fouling. However, the use of such paints may induce strong deteriorative effects on different aquatic trophic levels that are not the intended targets. Here, the toxic effect of core-shell copper oxide nanoparticles on the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was investigated with regards to the change of algal cellular population structure, primary photochemistry of photosystem II and reactive oxygen species formation. Algal cultures were exposed to 0.004, 0.01 and 0.02 g/l of core-shell copper oxide nanoparticles for 6h and a change in algal population structure was observed, while the formation of reactive oxygen species was determined using the 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate marker measured by flow cytometry. For the study of the photosystem II primary photochemistry we investigated the change in chlorophyll a rapid rise of fluorescence. We found that core-shell copper oxide nanoparticles induced cellular aggregation processes and had a deteriorative effect on chlorophyll by inducing the photoinhibition of photosystem II. The inhibition of photosynthetic electron transport induced a strong energy dissipation process via non-photochemical pathways. The deterioration of photosynthesis was interpreted as being caused by the formation of reactive oxygen species induced by core-shell copper oxide nanoparticles. However, no formation of reactive oxygen species was observed when C. reinhardtii was exposed to the core without the shell or to the shell only.

Inhibition of adenine nucleotide translocator pore function and protection against apoptosis in vivo by an HIV protease inhibitor.

Inhibitors of HIV protease have been shown to have antiapoptotic effects in vitro, yet whether these effects are seen in vivo remains controversial. In this study, we have evaluated the impact of the HIV protease inhibitor (PI) nelfinavir, boosted with ritonavir, in models of nonviral disease associated with excessive apoptosis. In mice with Fas-induced fatal hepatitis, Staphylococcal enterotoxin B-induced shock, and middle cerebral artery occlusion-induced stroke, we demonstrate that PIs significantly reduce apoptosis and improve histology, function, and/or behavioral recovery in each of these models. Further, we demonstrate that both in vitro and in vivo, PIs block apoptosis through the preservation of mitochondrial integrity and that in vitro PIs act to prevent pore function of the adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) subunit of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore complex.