2 research outputs found
TBBPA and Its Alternatives Disturb the Early Stages of Neural Development by Interfering with the NOTCH and WNT Pathways
Tetrabromobisphenol
A (TBBPA), as well as its alternatives Tetrabromobisphenol
S (TBBPS) and Tetrachlorobisphenol A (TCBPA), are widely used halogenated
flame retardants. Their high detection rates in human breast milk
and umbilical cord serum have raised wide concerns about their adverse
effects on human fetal development. In this study, we evaluated the
cytotoxicity and neural developmental toxicity of TBBPA, TBBPS, and
TCBPA with a mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) system, at human body
fluid and environmental relevant doses. All the three compounds showed
similar trends in their cytotoxic effects. However, while TBBPA and
TBBPS stimulated ESC neural differentiation, TCBPA significantly inhibited
neurogenesis. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that, as far as the
NOTCH (positive regulator) and WNT (negative regulator) pathways were
concerned, TBBPA only partially and slightly disturbed them, whereas
TBBPS significantly inhibited the WNT pathway, and TCBPA down-regulated
the expression of NOTCH effectors but increased the WNT signaling,
actions which both inhibited neural specification. In conclusion,
our findings suggest that TBBPS and TCBPA may not be safe alternatives
to TBBPA, and their toxicity need to be comprehensively evaluated
Carbon Dots with Continuously Tunable Full-Color Emission and Their Application in Ratiometric pH Sensing
Two
types of carbon dots (C dots) exhibiting respective excitation-independent
blue emission and excitation-dependent full-color emissions have been
synthesized via a mild one-pot process from chloroform and diethylamine.
This new bottom-up synthetic strategy leads to highly stable crystalline
C dots with tunable surface functionalities in high reproducibility.
By detailed characterization and comparison of the two types of C
dots, it is proved concretely that the surface functional groups,
such as Cî—»O and Cî—»N, can efficiently introduce new energy
levels for electron transitions and result in the continuously adjustable
full-color emissions. A simplified energy level and electron transition
diagram has been proposed to help understand how surface functional
groups affect the emission properties. By taking advantage of the
unique excitation-dependent full-color emissions, various new applications
can be anticipated. Here, as an example, a ratiometric pH sensor using
two emission wavelengths of the C dots as independent references has
been constructed to improve the reliability and accuracy, and the
pH sensor is applied to the measurement of intracellular pH values
and cancer diagnosis