Low concentration of Bisphenol a induces proliferation of gastric cancer cells, HGC-27

Bisphenol A, an endocrine disrupting compound that affects human homeostasis. Studies on BPA are focusing on the impact of BPA in reproductive function and brain development. However, the effect of BPA on gut especially gastric cells is not well explored. Gut is directly in contact with ingested BPA; therefore, we aimed to determine the effect of BPA exposure on gastric cells proliferation at safe recommended concentration. Human gastric cancer cells (HGC-27) were treated with BPA at different concentration (low: 10-9M, 10-7M; high10-5M, 10-4M) and time point (24 hr, 48 hr, 72 hr). Cell viability assays were determined using MTS assay. Cells were further stained with Alexa Fluor-635 (F-actin) and Fluorescein (Hif-1α) protein for immunocytofluorescence. Data were analysed using ANOVA (p<0.05, n≥3). Cells treated with 10-9M BPA showed significance increase of cell viability after 48 hr (Mean ±SEM; 146%±0.03, p=0.01) and 72 hr (113%±0.03, p=0.00) compared to 24 hr treatment (77%±0.11, p=0.002). Similarly, cell treated with 10-7M BPA showed a significance increase after 48 hr (141%±0.03, p=0.03) and 72 hr (190%±0.03, p=0.02) compared to 24 hr cells treated with 10-7M (88%±0.05, p=0.01) and untreated (100%±0.07). Lower concentration of BPA increases the condensation of F-actin in all HGC-27 cells. Meanwhile, translocation of Hif-1α protein were observed in all BPA-exposed cells. Findings of this study revealed that BPA induced proliferation and condensation of F-actin structure of gastric cancer cells at low concentration

Aloe emodin induces apoptosis in ER+-breast cancer cells; MCF-7 through IGF-1R signalling pathway

Two-third of breast cancer patients expressed estrogen receptors (ER)s and received endocrine treatment with established anti-estrogens such as tamoxifen. But the action and acquired resistance during treatment are largely unknown. In contrary, phytochemicals are more selective and less cytotoxic to normal cells. Accordingly, we found aloe emodin, an anthraquinone to inhibit the proliferation of ER+-breast cancer cells, MCF-7 with IC50 of 80 μM, but not affecting control breast cells, MCF-10A. Tamoxifen was non-selective to both cells with IC50 of 27 and 38 μM, respectively. Thus, we aimed to investigate the anti-proliferative mechanism of aloe emodin on MCF-7 and its underlying signalling compared to tamoxifen. Cells were treated separately with aloe emodin and tamoxifen at respective IC50 for 72 h. Apoptosis was determined using Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. The expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R), insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-2 and B-raf gene was investigated using QuantiGene 2.0 Plex assay. Paired-student t-test and ANOVA test were used to compare between untreated and treated cells on the measured parameters. Each treatment was conducted in triplicate and repeated three times. Significance was set at p<0.05. The presences of early and late apoptosis in MCF-7 were seen in both treatments. All target genes were down regulated. The anti-proliferation effect of aloe emodin on MCF-7 is similar with tamoxifen which mediates inhibition of IGF-1R signalling pathway. This suggests aloe emodin as a potential anti-cancer agent to be used in combined anti-estrogen therapy to enhance its efficacy in ER+-breast cancer treatment

Effects of bisphenol a on neonatal cardiomyocytes beating rate and morphology

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been utilised excessively at a global capacity of 2.9 billion kg/year. It is widely used in manufacturing polycarbonate polymers and epoxy resins. Hence, humans are potentially exposed to this chemical substance in their daily life. As a typical endocrine disruptor, BPA exhibits detectable hormone-like properties. Many studies have been linking BPA exposure in humans with the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, however the direct exposure of BPA on cardiomyocytes beating rates and morphology have not been entirely explored. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of BPA on cells structure and function of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes culture. Cardiomyocytes were isolated from 0 to 2 days old newborn rats and treated with 0.001 to 100 µM concentration of BPA. All cardiomyocytes were subjected to immunostaining, beating frequency assessment assay, MTS assay and Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM). In immunostaining, cardiomyocytes showed positive staining for F-actin. This staining allows identification of the cells thus differentiate cardiomyocytes from other cell types. Significance effects of BPA on cardiomyocytes were observed in MTS assay (p<0.05) and beating rates (p<0.01). Significant reduction (48%-64%, ± 1.5280) was observed in beating rate of cardiomyocytes exposed to 0.1 to 100 µM of BPA. Meanwhile in MTS assay, significant reduction (54%, 0.067 ± 0.0026) in cell viability was observed in cells exposed to 0.1 µM of BPA only. Interestingly, under SEM, cardiomyocytes showed altered cell surface homogeneity after BPA exposure. Exposure of 0.1 to 100 µM BPA lead to flatten of cardiomyocytes cell surface and blurring of the cell borders. This study offers an in vitro evidence of BPA effects on cardiomyocytes morphology and beating rates, thus suggest the potential adverse effect of BPA exposure. However, further investigation would be required to understand how BPA effects normal cells morphology and beating rates of heart cells

WO3–based photocatalysts: A review on synthesis, performance enhancement and photocatalytic memory for environmental applications

A significant drawback of the traditional photocatalysts such as titanium dioxide (TiO2) is their inability to absorb visible light from the solar spectrum due to their wide band gap energy. They are only photoactive in the ultraviolet (UV) region which is just a little fraction of the solar spectrum and could be harmful with much exposure to it. Due to its abundance in the solar spectrum, visible light needs to be harnessed for environmental applications. However, we lack visible light driven photocatalysts with long-lasting energy storage capacity for “round-the-clock photocatalytic” (RTCP) applications. For this reason, there is a growing need to find new photocatalysts that can mitigate these bottlenecks. It is evident from some carefully selected published articles (1976–2021) that tungsten oxide (WO3) and its composites have attracted popularity in recent years because of its outstanding properties and particularly its smaller band gap energy of 2.8 eV. However, pristine WO3 is limited due to relatively low energy density and smaller specific surface area. These drawbacks can be addressed by developing various WO3 – based materials to improve their performance. This paper reviews and discusses their recent development in surface advancement, morphology control, modification of nanostructured WO3 and its composites, and their RTCP energy storage for photocatalytic activities in visible light and the dark for environmental applications. Specific aspects focused on its nature, structure, properties, synthesis, coatings, deposition, approaches at modifying and enhancing its visible light photoactivity for enhanced performance and energy storage potential

High flux polysulfone braided hollow fiber membrane for wastewater treatment role of zinc oxide as hydrophilic enhancer

Incorporation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles has played an important role on the improvement of unique membrane characterization and performance, most notably the hydrophilic modification of the membrane for higher pure water permeability. Additionally, the permeability of the membrane can be improved via introduction of braid support by reducing the thickness of the membrane separation layer. Moreover, the braided hollow fiber membrane (BHFM) is able to perform under higher pressure conditions compared to hollow fiber membranes. In this paper, hybrid polysulfone (PSf)/ZnO BHFMs were fabricated via phase inversion method. Hydrophilic 10 ± 1.8 nm polycrystalline ZnO nanoparticles synthesized via sol-gel method were incorporated on BHFM to improve the hydrophilicity and increase flux with constant rejection under high pressure and the effect of the ZnO loading on the membrane properties and performance were thoroughly studied. The fabricated BHFMs with 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 wt% of ZnO nanoparticles concentration were defined as BHFM1, BHFM2, BHFM3 and BHFM4 respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle, mechanical strength, flux performance, rejection with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and fouling of best performed membrane were conducted to achieve the target of this paper. The performance of these hybrid ZnO/PSf BHFMs were compared with neat PSf hollow fiber membrane (HFM) and previous studies. The findings from this research work shows that BHFM4 has the most desired properties for wastewater treatment application. The ZnO nanoparticles in BHFM4 have improved hydrophilicity from 108.79° to 71.02°, and thus BHFM4 has increased flux performance from 36.20 to 919.12 L/m2 h at 1.0 bar pressure and 193.48 to 1909.11 L/m2h at 4.0 bar pressure when compared with BHFM1. Constant BSA rejection rates (> 90%) were observed in all BHFMs. The improved hydrophilicity and pure flux performance with constant rejection rate in high pressure conditions illustrates the suitability of fabricated ZnO/PSf BHFMs in wastewater treatment applications

The impacts of intrauterine Bisphenol A exposure on pregnancy and expression of miRNAs related to heart development and diseases in animal model

This study aimed to examine the impact of BPA exposure on pregnancy and foetuses on cardiac tissues and the expression of cardiac microRNAs (miRNAs) related to heart development and diseases. Pregnancy is known to be the “critical windows” in determining the offspring physical and cells development in their life after birth. The increment of the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a later stage of life has been reported by few studies demonstrated from prenatal exposure of BPA. BPA has been shown to alter miRNAs expression profiles for organ development, regeneration and metabolic functions. These alterations have been associated with the risk of CVDs. However, the associations between pregnancy outcomes and miRNAs expression in cardiac of mother- and foetuses-exposed to BPA are still not entirely explored. In BPA-exposed pregnant rat groups, a significant weight gained was observed in comparison to control (p < 0.05). Interestingly, significant changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between the first and third trimester of BPA-exposed pregnant rats were also observed (p < 0.05). In BPA-exposed pregnant rats, miR-499-5p was significantly altered in the heart (p < 0.01). Meanwhile, altered miR-17-5p, -208-3p, and -210-3p expressions were observed in all heart of the foetuses from BPA-exposed pregnant rats (p < 0.05). In H&E staining, BPA-exposed foetal hearts showed a sign of fibrosis while BPA-exposed pregnant rats showed muscle remnant. Masson trichrome staining further confirmed the presence of fibrosis observed in BPA-exposed foetal heart and reduced expression of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) was also observed in BPA-exposed foetal heart. In summary, altered cardiac miRNAs with histological changes were observed in both mother- and foetus-exposed BPA These findings put forward the importance of future work to further understand how prenatal BPA exposure affect foetuses in their later stage of life

Fabrication of high performance PVDF hollow fiber membrane using less toxic solvent at different additive loading and air gap

Existing toxic solvents in the manufacturing of polymeric membranes have been raising concerns due to the risks of exposure to health and the environment. Furthermore, the lower tensile strength of the membrane renders these membranes unable to endure greater pressure during water treatment. To sustain a healthier ecosystem, fabrication of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membrane using a less toxic solvent, triethyl phosphate (TEP), with a lower molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG 400) (0–3 wt.%) additive were experimentally demonstrated via a phase inversion-based spinning technique at various air gap (10, 20 and 30 cm). Membrane with 2 wt.% of PEG 400 exhibited the desired ultrafiltration asymmetric morphology, while 3 wt.% PEG 400 resulting microfiltration. The surface roughness, porosity, and water flux performance increased as the loading of PEG 400 increased. The mechanical properties and contact angle of the fabricated membrane were influenced by the air gap where 20 cm indicate 2.91 MPa and 84.72◦, respectively, leading to a stronger tensile and hydrophilicity surface. Lower toxicity TEP as a solvent helped in increasing the tensile properties of the membrane as well as producing an eco-friendly membrane towards creating a sustainable environment. The comprehensive investigation in this study may present a novel composition for the robust structure of polymeric hollow fiber membrane that is suitable in membrane technology

Removal of bisphenol a from water via visible light-driven photocatalytic dual layer hollow fiber membrane

In recent years, the level of bisphenol A (BPA) detected in various water sources, foods and beverages has gained media attention. The presence of BPA in the environment is highly potential to contaminate the environment and can cause various adverse affects to human and aquatic life. Photocatalysis in the presence of titanium dioxide (TiO2) is one of the promising options which offer complete degradation of organic contaminants even at low concentrations. However, TiO2 only displays its photocatalytic effect under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation and is associated with difficulties of recovery after treatment process. Therefore, the present study is conducted to investigate the efficiency of visible light-driven photocatalytic dual layer hollow fiber (DLHF) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane for the removal of BPA from contaminated water and its detrimental effects by using an in-vivo model. Visible light-active (VLA) nitrogen-doping TiO2 (N-doped TiO2) was successfully prepared via simple, energy and cost saving sol-gel method. Then, N-doped TiO2 was further incorporated into DLHF membrane with different N-doped TiO2/ polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) weight ratio (0.2, 0.5 and 0.7) via co-extrusion spinning method. The photocatalytic membranes were characterized for their morphology, particles distribution, surface roughness, crytallinity and light absorption spectra. The photocatalytic activity was measured by photocatalytic degradation of BPA in contaminated water under visible and UV light irradiations in comparison with the commercial TiO2. This is followed by investigating the effects of untreated-BPA and treated- BPA water on the tight junction protein. The expressions of Claudin-2, -3 and -4 were measured quantitatively and qualitatively via western blotting (WB), haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. Excellent photocatalytic activity with more than 90% of BPA removal was achieved in the presence of N-doped TiO2 DLHF under visible and UV light irradiation. The removal of BPA was 80% higher in comparison with the commercial TiO2. In-vivo study showed that the BPA exposure altered the morphology of finger-like projections of villi and changed expression level of Claudin 2, 3 and 4 proteins in the jejunum and ileum of both pregnant rats and their foetuses. Interestingly, villi and Claudins expressions were undisrupted in treated-BPA water exposed-group. The presence of VLA element in N-doped TiO2 DLHF significantly improved the absorbance capability under visible irradiation, thus increases the photocatalytic degradation activity under visible light irradiation and effectively mitigated the effect on BPA on the ileum and jejunum of gastrointestinal tract. Altogether, successfully fabricated photocatalytic DLHF membrane using co-extrusion method has a promising potential in removing BPA to fulfill the public focus on the safety of water and their need to consume clean water

Incorporation of N-doped TiO2 into dual layer hollow fiber (DLHF) membrane for visible light-driven photocatalytic removal of reactive black 5

This present study aims to develop a visible-light driven photocatalytic dual layer hollow fiber (DLHF) membrane for photodegradation activity. Nitrogen-doped TiO2 DLHF membranes with different loadings of N-doped TiO2 were successfully fabricated via a single step co-extrusion method. The fabricated membranes were characterized for their morphology and properties. The incorporation of N-doped TiO2 into membrane matrix has shifted the absorption capability into visible light region with lowest band gap energy obtained was 2.63eV. The photocatalytic performance evaluations of the N-doped TiO2 DLHF reported 75% and 100% of Reactive Black 5 (RB5) removal were achieved after 360 min of visible and UV light illumination respectively. Altogether, N-doped TiO2 DLHF exhibits excellent photocatalytic degradation activity under visible and UV light irradiation, hence have a promising potential in removing RB5 and other organic contaminants for water treatment

Immobilization techniques of a photocatalyst into and onto a polymer membrane for photocatalytic activity

This article reviews the various techniques of immobilizing a photocatalyst into and onto the polymer membrane for pollutant removal and as a problem solver in handling suspended photocatalyst issues from the previous literature. A particular focus is given to the preparation of mixed matrix membranes and deposition techniques for photocatalytic degradation in applications for wastewater treatment. Advantages and disadvantages in this application are evaluated. Various operating conditions during the process are presented. About 90 recently published studies (2008-2020) are reviewed. From the literature, it was found that TiO2is the most favoured photocatalyst that is frequently used in photocatalytic water treatment. Dry-wet co-spinning and sputtering techniques emerged as the promising technique for immobilizing a uniformly distributed photocatalyst within the polymeric membrane, and exhibited excellence pollutant removal. In general, the technical applicability is the key factor in selecting the best photocatalyst immobilizing technique for water treatment. Finally, the scope of various techniques that have been reviewed may provide potential for future photocatalytic study