Phorate triggers oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction to enhance micronuclei generation and DNA damage in human lymphocytes.

Herein, we studied phorate for its toxicological effects in human lymphocytes. Phorate treatment for 3 h has induced significant increase in the lymphocytic DNA damage. Compared to control, comet data from highest concentration of phorate (1000 µM) showed 8.03-fold increase in the Olive tail moment (OTM). Cytokinesis blocked micronucleus (CBMN) assay revealed 6.4-fold increase in binucleated micronucleated (BNMN) cells following the exposure with phorate (200 µM) for 24 h. The nuclear division index (NDI) in phorate (200 µM) treated cells reduced to 1.8 vis-à-vis control cells showed NDI of 1.94. Comparative to untreated control, 60.43% greater DCF fluorescence was quantitated in lymphocytes treated with phorate (500 µM), affirming reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and oxidative stress. Flow cytometric data of phorate (200 µM) treated lymphocytes showed 81.77% decline in the fluorescence of rhodamine 123 (Rh123) dye, confirming the perturbation of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). Calf thymus DNA (ct-DNA) treated with phorate (1000 µM) exhibited 2.3-fold higher 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) DNA adduct formation, signified the oxidative DNA damage. The alkaline unwinding assay revealed 4.0 and 6.5 ct-DNA strand breaks when treated to phorate and phorate-Cu (II) complex. Overall, the data unequivocally suggests the cyto- and genotoxic potential of phorate in human lymphocytes, which may induce comparable toxicological consequences in persons occupationally or non-occupationally exposed to insecticide phorate.

Microwave plasma-assisted silicon nanoparticles: cytotoxic, molecular, and numerical responses against cancer cells.

Silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs), which have a special place in material science due to their strong luminescent property and wide applicability in various physicochemical arenas, such as solar cells and LEDs, were synthesised by a microwave plasma-assisted process using an argon-silane mixture. Several characterization tools were applied to check the crystallinity (XRD) and morphological (FESEM, TEM, ∼20 ± 2 nm size) and topographical (AFM, ∼20 nm) details of the NPs. The high-purity SiNPs were applied on myoblast cancer cells to investigate the reactivity of the NPs at different doses (200, 1000 and 2000 ng mL-1) for different incubation periods (24 h, 48 h & 72 h). The MTT assay was utilized to determine the percentage of viable and non-viable cells, while the cell organization was observed via microscopy and CLSM. Additionally, the molecular responses (RT-PCR), such as apoptosis, were analyzed in presence of caspase 3 and 7, and the results showed an upregulation with SiNPs. To validate the obtained data, analytical studies were also performed for the SiNPs via statistical analysis and the most reliable data values were evaluated and acceptable as per the ICH guidelines.