Environmentally Induced Changes of Commercial Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Suspensions. Adaptive Behavior of Bacteria in Biofilms.

The effects of environmental factors such as sunlight irradiation and the presence of humic acid (HA) on the physicochemical properties of commercial multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) suspended in a simulated inorganic matrix (SIM) and their impacts on bacteria growing in biofilms were evaluated. Both solar irradiation and the presence of HA lead to the dissolution of adsorbed metals on the MWCNT, which are residues of synthesis catalysts. Also, preferential adsorption of certain HA components on the MWCNT induces important modifications in the aliphatic/aromatic relationship of HA components in solution and the generation and release of new moieties. Results demonstrated that the variation of such physicochemical parameters strongly affects the interactions of MWCNT with Pseudomonas aeruginosa sessile bacteria. Thus, the number of attached bacteria increased, and stress responses such as decrease in bacterial size were found in the presence of sunlight-irradiated MWCNT with a particular distribution of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) strands. A shielding effect was observed when HA was added. It was concluded that physicochemical alterations caused by environmental conditions (with/without irradiation, presence/absence of HA) on MWCNT-containing SIM trigger distinctive adaptive behavior of bacteria in biofilms. This information must be taken into account in the development of biologically assisted treatments for organic metal co-contamination of MWCNT-containing media since MWCNT discharge alters the physicochemical properties and composition of the aqueous environment and the response of the biofilms that interact with it.

Staphylococcus aureus biofilm eradication by the synergistic effect exerted by PEG-coated silicon dots immobilized in silica films and light irradiation.

Immobilization of PEG-covered silicon dots, PEGSiDs, on glass substrates was performed following a simple strategy involving particle embedding by a sol-gel process forming a silica film on glass slides. The obtained films, denoted as fSiO x -PEGSiD, constitute a water-wettable, strongly supported, photoluminescent glass coating. The films showed high capacity for photosensitizing singlet oxygen (1O2) in the UVA when immersed in water. Staphylococcus aureus colonies formed on fSiO x -PEGSiDs modified glasses revealed the inhibition of bacterial adhesion and bacterial growth leading to the formation of loosely-packed and smaller S. aureus colonies. Upon 350 nm light irradiation of the biofilmed fSiO x -PEGSiDs -modified glasses, S. aureus growth was inhibited and bacteria killed reducing the number of living bacteria by three orders of magnitude. Eradication of attached bacteria was achieved by the synergistic effect exerted by a less adherent fSiO x -PEGSiDs surface that inhibits biofilm formation and the ability of the surface to photosensitize 1O2 to kill bacteria.

BSA-capped gold nanoclusters as potential theragnostic for skin diseases: Photoactivation, skin penetration, in vitro, and in vivo toxicity.

BSA-capped gold nanoclusters are promising theragnostic systems that can be excited to render both fluorescence emission and reactive oxygen species. Although their synthesis and photoluminescence properties are already well described, more accurate information about their use as photosensitizers is required in order to advance towards health applications. In this work, we have obtained BSA-capped gold nanoclusters and characterized their photophysics by different techniques. Singlet oxygen production was detected upon irradiation, which was enough to produce toxicity on two cell lines. Remarkably, an internal energy transfer, probably due to the presence of smaller nanoclusters and the contribution of oxidized residues of BSA in the system, caused fluorescence emission near 640 nm after excitation in the UV range. Additionally, the system was capable of penetrating human skin beyond the stratum corneum, which enhances the potential of these nanoclusters as bifunctional photodynamic therapy effectors and biomarkers with application in a diversity of skin diseases. In the absence of radiation, BSA-capped gold nanoclusters did not cause toxicity in vitro, while their toxic effect on an in vivo model as zebrafish was determined.

Toward biomedical application of amino-functionalized silicon nanoparticles.

Silicon blue-emitting nanoparticles (NPs) are promising effectors for photodynamic therapy and radiotherapy, because of their production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon irradiation. RESULTS: Amino-functionalized silicon NPs (NH2SiNP) were intrinsically nontoxic below 100 µg/ml in vitro (on two tumor cell lines) and in vivo (zebrafish larvae and embryos). NH2SiNP showed a moderate effect as a photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy and reduced ROS generation in radiotherapy, which could be indicative of a ROS scavenging effect. Encapsulation of NH2SiNP into ultradeformable liposomes improved their skin penetration after topical application, reaching the viable epidermis where neoplastic events occur. CONCLUSION: Subsequent derivatizations after amino-functionalization and incorporation to nanodrug delivery systems could expand the spectrum of the biomedical application of these kind of silicon NPs.

Polyethylene glycol-coated blue-emitting silicon dots with improved properties for uses in aqueous and biological environments.

Grafting of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to ultrasmall photoluminescent silicon dots (SiDs) is expected to improve and expand the applications of these particles to aqueous environments and biological systems. Herein we report a novel one-pot synthesis of robust, highly water compatible PEG-coated SiDs (denoted as PEG-SiDs) of (3.3 ± 0.5) nm size. The nanoparticles' synthesis is based on the liquid phase oxidation of magnesium silicide using PEG as reaction media and leading to high PEG density grafting. PEG-SiDs enhanced photophysical, photosensitising, and solution properties in aqueous environments are described and compared to those of 2 nm size PEG-coated SiDs with low PEG density grafting (denoted as PEG-NHSiDs) obtained from a multistep synthesis strategy. PEG-SiDs form highly dispersed suspensions in water showing stable photoluminescence and quantum yields of Φ = 0.13 ± 0.04 at 370 nm excitation in air-saturated suspensions. These particles exhibited the capacity of photosensitising the formation of singlet molecular oxygen, not observed for PEG-NHSiDs. PEG robust shielding of the silicon core luminescent properties is further demonstrated in bio-imaging experiments stressing the strong interaction between PEG-SiDs and Staphylococcus aureus smears by observing the photoluminescence of particles. PEG-SiDs were found to be nontoxic to S. aureus cells at concentrations of 100 mg ml-1, though a bacteriostatic effect on S. aureus biofilms was observed upon UV-A irradiation under conditions where light alone has no effect.