Toxicological profile of calcium carbonate nanoparticles for industrial applications.

Calcium carbonate nanoparticles (CaCO3NPs) derived from CO2 are promising materials for different industrial applications. It is imperative to understand their toxicological profile in biological systems as the human and environmental exposures to CaCO3NPs increases with growing production. Here, we analyse the cytotoxicity of CaCO3NPs synthesized from a CaO slurry on two cell lines, and in vivo on zebrafish (Danio Rerio). Our results demonstrate the CaCO3NPs in vitro safety as they do not cause cell death or genotoxicity. Moreover, zebrafish treated with CaCO3NPs develop without any abnormalities, confirming the safety and biocompatibility of this nanomaterial

Toxicity assessment of laser-induced graphene by zebrafish during development

Abstract Laser-induced graphene (LIG) is a three-dimensional porous graphene-based material easily prepared by single or multiple laser direct writing on a polymeric or organic surface. It possesses impressive physical and chemical properties, including high surface area, hierarchical porosity, and good electrical conductivity. Here, we investigate the toxicological profile of LIG and its impact in zebrafish (Danio rerio) as in vivo biological models with high homology with humans. We evaluate the effect of LIG, administered in different concentrations to zebrafish embryos, on different biological parameters, including embryo viability and morphological changes. Our results show that LIG does not exhibit toxic effects and does not interfere with zebrafish development, even at high concentrations. Our findings provide direct evidence of the LIG biocompatibility and offer a promising avenue for its safe use in biological applications

Efficient and reversible CO2 capture in bio-based ionic liquids solutions

Choline/amino acid-based ionic liquids were synthetized via ionic metathesis and their CO2 absorption performances evaluated by employing different experimental approaches. In order to overcome any viscosity-related problem, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was employed as solvent. IL-DMSO solutions with different IL concentrations were evaluated as absorbents for CO2, also investigating their good cyclability as desirable for real industrial CO2 capture technologies. 1H-NMR and in-situ ATR-IR experiments were the toolbox to study the CO2 chemical fixation mechanism under different experimental conditions, proving the formation of distinct chemical species (carbamic acid and/or ammonium carbamate). In general, these ILs demonstrated molar uptakes higher than classical 0.5 mol CO2/mol IL and the capacity to release CO2 in extremely mild conditions. The possible biological adverse effects were also analyzed, for the first time, in zebrafish (Danio rerio) during the development, by assessing for different toxicological endpoints, proving the non-toxicity and high biocompatibility of these bio-inspired ILs

The Impact of Long-Term Exposure to Space Environment on Adult Mammalian Organisms: A Study on Mouse Thyroid and Testis

Hormonal changes in humans during spaceflight have been demonstrated but the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. To clarify this point thyroid and testis/epididymis, both regulated by anterior pituitary gland, have been analyzed on long-term space-exposed male C57BL/10 mice, either wild type or pleiotrophin transgenic, overexpressing osteoblast stimulating factor-1. Glands were submitted to morphological and functional analysis

Toxicity assessment of laser-induced graphene by zebrafish during development

Laser-induced graphene (LIG) is a three-dimensional porous graphene-based material easily prepared by single or multiple laser direct writing on a polymeric or organic surface. It possesses impressive physical and chemical properties, including high surface area, hierarchical porosity, and good electrical conductivity. Here, we investigate the toxicological profile of LIG and its impact in zebrafish (Danio rerio) asin vivobiological models with high homology with humans. We evaluate the effect of LIG, administered in different concentrations to zebrafish embryos, on different biological parameters, including embryo viability and morphological changes. Our results show that LIG does not exhibit toxic effects and does not interfere with zebrafish development, even at high concentrations. Our findings provide direct evidence of the LIG biocompatibility and offer a promising avenue for its safe use in biological applications

Laser-Fabricated Fluorescent, Ligand-Free Silicon Nanoparticles: Scale-up, Biosafety, and 3D Live Imaging of Zebrafish under Development

This work rationalizes the scalable synthesis of ultrasmall, ligand-free silicon nanomaterials via liquid-phase pulsed laser ablation process using picosecond pulses at ultraviolet wavelengths. Results showed that the irradiation time drives hydrodynamic NP size. Isolated, monodisperse Si-NPs are obtained at high yield (72%) using post-treatment process. The obtained Si-NPs have an average size of 3c10 nm (not aggregated) and display photoemission in the green spectral range. We directly characterized the ligand-free Si-NPs in a vertebrate animal (zebrafish) and assessed their toxicity during the development. In vivo assay revealed that Si-NPs are found inside in all the early life stages of embryos and larvae growth, showing that the biosafety of Si-NPs and malformation types are independent of the Si-NP dose. Si-NPs were directly imaged inside developing embryos by spinning disk-imaging technique with optical sectioning capability. We showed that Si-NPs can passively enter inside embryos by the pore canals of chorion, can diffuse in the circulatory system, i.e., blood vessel, and accumulate inside larvae midgut and yolk sac, and in the eye lens, indicating the crossing of the blood barrie

Biocompatibility and biodistribution of functionalized carbon nano-onions (f-CNOs) in a vertebrate model

Functionalized carbon nano-onions (f-CNOs) are of great interest as platforms for imaging, diagnostic and therapeutic applications due to their high cellular uptake and low cytotoxicity. To date, the toxicological effects of f-CNOs on vertebrates have not been reported. In this study, the possible biological impact of f-CNOs on zebrafish during development is investigated, evaluating different toxicity end-points such as the survival rate, hatching rate, and heart beat rate. Furthermore, a bio-distribution study of boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) functionalized CNOs in zebrafish larvae is performed by utilizing inverted selective plane illumination microscopy (iSPIM), due to its intrinsic capability of allowing for fast 3D imaging. Our in vivo findings indicate that f-CNOs exhibit no toxicity, good biocompatibility (in the concentration range of 5-100 \u3bcg mL-1) and a homogenous biodistribution in zebrafish larvae

far red fluorescent carbon nano onions as a biocompatible platform for cellular imaging

Fluorescent carbon nano-onions emitting in the far-red spectral window with enhanced solubility in biological media and bright photoluminescence are reported

Heat-sensitive poly-acrylamide nanoparticle for cancer treatment

Several nanomedicine-based platforms, including polymeric micelles, dendrimers, and liposomes, have been developed and explored for targeted delivery of therapeutics in cancer. These nanoparticles are capable of delivering selectively antineoplastic agents to the tumor, reduce the untoward toxicity, and improve the therapeutic effect. In the present study, we propose new thermosensitive polyacrylamide-based nanoparticles as polymer-based drug carriers. Polyacrylamide has a controllable swelling temperature, which enables a rapid release of an encapsulated drug above certain temperatures. PAA-NP was synthesized then functionalized with folic acid to improve selective targeting. Then doxorubicin, an antineoplastic agent, was encapsulated inside of the polymeric core. Our data show that these nanoparticles have a sol-gel transition temperature of 41°C. We investigated the effects of the folic acid functionalized PAA nanoparticles on HeLa cells both in vitro and in vivo, and on zebrafish larvae xenografted with human pancreatic cancer cell line Mia Paca-2. Functionalized NPs were internalized in a short time by the cancer cells, mainly localizing in the lysosomes. In vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity studies indicated high viability of cells treated with functionalized nanoparticles encapsulating doxorubicin by signaling a minor release of doxorubicin at physiological temperatures. Conversely, at the temperature of 41 °C, they trigger apoptosis of the xenografted cells, resulting in a strong arrest of the increase of the tumor area. Our results suggest that the heat-activated DOX:PAANP-FA could be used to implement combined therapies for the local treatment of solid cancers