Conjugation to gold nanoparticles of methionine gamma-lyase, a cancer-starving enzyme. Physicochemical characterization of the nanocomplex for prospective nanomedicine applications.

The pyridoxal 5'-dependent enzyme methionine γ-lyase (MGL) catalyzes the degradation of methionine. This activity has been profitable to develop an antitumor agent exploiting the strict dependence of most malignant cells on the availability of methionine. Indeed, methionine depletion blocks tumor proliferation and leads to an increased susceptibility to anticancer drugs. Here, we explore the conjugation of MGL to gold nanoparticles capped with citrate (AuNPs) as a novel strategy to deliver MGL to cancer cells. Measurements of Transmission Electron Microscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering, Asymmetrical Flow Field-Flow Fractionation, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, and Circular Dichroism allowed to achieve an extensive biophysical and biochemical characterization of the MGL-AuNP complex including particle size, size distribution, MGL loading yield, enzymatic activity, and impact of gold surface on protein structure. Noticeably, we found that activity retention was improved over time for the enzyme adsorbed to AuNPs with respect to the enzyme free in solution. The acquired body of knowledge on the nanocomplex properties and this encouraging stabilizing effect upon conjugation are the necessary basis for further studies aimed at the evaluation of the therapeutic potential of MGL-AuNP complex in a biological milieu.

Enhancing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) therapy with targeted carbon nano-onion (CNO)-mediated delivery of gemcitabine (GEM)-derived prodrugs.

Nanotechnology's potential in revolutionising cancer treatments is evident in targeted drug delivery systems (DDSs) engineered to optimise therapeutic efficacy and minimise toxicity. This study examines a novel nanocarrier constructed with carbon nano-onions (CNOs), engineered and evaluated for its ability to selectively target cancer cells overexpressing the hyaluronic acid receptor; CD44. Our results highlighted that the CNO-based nanocarrier coupled with hyaluronic acid as the targeting agent demonstrated effective uptake by CD44+ PANC-1 and MIA PaCa-2 cells, while avoiding CD44- Capan-1 cells. The CNO-based nanocarrier also exhibited excellent biocompatibility in all tested pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells, as well as healthy cells. Notably, the CNO-based nanocarrier was successfully loaded with chemotherapeutic 4-(N)-acyl- sidechain-containing prodrugs derived from gemcitabine (GEM). These prodrugs alone exhibited remarkable efficacy in killing PDAC cells which are known to be GEM resistant, and their efficacy was amplified when combined with the CNO-based nanocarrier, particularly in targeting GEM-resistant CD44+ PDAC cells. These findings demonstrate the potential of CNOs as promising scaffolds in advancing targeted DDSs, signifying the translational potential of carbon nanoparticles for cancer therapy.

Morphological and lipid metabolism alterations in macrophages exposed to model environmental nanoplastics traced by high-resolution synchrotron techniques.

The release of nanoplastics (NPs) in the environment is a significant health concern for long-term exposed humans. Although their usage has certainly revolutionized several application fields, at nanometer size, NPs can easily interact at the cellular level, resulting in potential harmful effects. Micro/Nanoplastics (M/NPs) have a demonstrated impact on mammalian endocrine components, such as the thyroid, adrenal gland, testes, and ovaries, while more investigations on prenatal and postnatal exposure are urgently required. The number of literature studies on the NPs' presence in biological samples is increasing. However, only a few offer a close study on the model environmental NP-immune system interaction exploited by advanced microscopy techniques. The present study highlights substantial morphological and lipid metabolism alterations in human M1 macrophages exposed to labeled polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride nanoparticles (PP and PVC NPs) (20 µg/ml). The results are interpreted by advanced microscopy techniques combined with standard laboratory tests and fluorescence microscopy. We report the accurate detection of polymeric nanoparticles doped with cadmium selenide quantum dots (CdSe-QDs NPs) by following the Se (L line) X-ray fluorescence emission peak at higher sub-cellular resolution, compared to the supportive light fluorescence microscopy. In addition, scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) imaging successfully revealed morphological changes in NP-exposed macrophages, providing input for Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analyses, which underlined the chemical modifications in macromolecular components, specifically in lipid response. The present evidence was confirmed by quantifying the lipid droplet (LD) contents in PP and PVC NPs-exposed macrophages (0-100 µg/ml) by Oil Red O staining. Hence, even at experimental NPs' concentrations and incubation time, they do not significantly affect cell viability; they cause an evident lipid metabolism impairment, a hallmark of phagocytosis and oxidative stress.

Protein-corona formation on aluminum doped zinc oxide and gallium nitride nanoparticles.

The interaction of semiconductor nanoparticles with bio-molecules attracts increasing interest of researchers, considering the reactivity of nanoparticles and the possibility to control their properties remotely giving mechanical, thermal, or electrical stimulus to the surrounding bio-environment. This work reports on a systematic comparative study of the protein-corona formation on aluminum doped zinc oxide and gallium nitride nanoparticles. Bovine serum albumin was chosen as a protein model. Dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques have been used to demonstrate the formation of protein-corona as well as the stability of the colloidal suspension given by BSA, which also works as a surfactant. The protein adsorption on the NPs surface studied by Bradford Assay showed the dependence on the quantity of proteins adsorbed to the available sites on the NPs surface, thus the saturation was observed at ratio higher than 5:1 (NPs:Proteins) in case of ZnO, these correlating with DLS results. Moreover, the kinetics of the proteins showed a relatively fast adsorption on the NPs surface with a saturation curve after about 25 min. GaN NPs, however, showed a very small amount of proteins adsorbed on the surface, a change in the hydrodynamic size being not observable with DLS technique or differential centrifugal sedimentation. The Circular Dichroism analysis suggests a drastic structural change in the secondary structure of the BSA after attaching on the NPs surface. The ZnO nanoparticles adsorb a protein-corona, which does not protect them against dissolution, and in consequence, the material proved to be highly toxic for Human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) at concentration above 25 µg/mL. In contrast, the GaN nanoparticles which do not adsorb a protein-corona, show no toxicity signs for HaCaT cells at concentration as high as 50 µg/mL, exhibiting much lower concentration of ions leakage in the culture medium as compared to ZnO nanoparticles.

Detecting Micro- and Nanoplastics Released from Food Packaging: Challenges and Analytical Strategies.

Micro- and nanoplastic (pMP and pNP, respectively) release is an emerging issue since these particles constitute a ubiquitous and growing pollutant, which not only threatens the environment but may have potential consequences for human health. In particular, there is concern about the release of secondary pMP and pNP from the degradation of plastic consumer products. The phenomenon is well-documented in relation to plastic waste in the environment but, more recently, reports of pMP generated even during the normal use of plastic food contact materials, such as water bottles, tea bags, and containers, have been published. So far, a validated and harmonized strategy to tackle the issue is not available. In this study, we demonstrate that plastic breakdown to pMP and pNP can occur during the normal use of polyethylene (PE) rice cooking bags and ice-cube bags as well as of nylon teabags. A multi-instrumental approach based on Raman microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and particular attention on the importance of sample preparation were applied to evaluate the chemical nature of the released material and their morphology. In addition, a simple method based on Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is proposed for pNP mass quantification, resulting in the release of 1.13 ± 0.07 mg of nylon 6 from each teabag. However, temperature was shown to have a strong impact on the morphology and aggregation status of the released materials, posing to scientists and legislators a challenging question: are they micro- or nanoplastics or something else altogether?

Large-Sized Nanocrystalline Ultrathin ß-Ga2O3 Membranes Fabricated by Surface Charge Lithography.

Large-sized 2D semiconductor materials have gained significant attention for their fascinating properties in various applications. In this work, we demonstrate the fabrication of nanoperforated ultrathin ß-Ga2O3 membranes of a nanoscale thickness. The technological route includes the fabrication of GaN membranes using the Surface Charge Lithography (SCL) approach and subsequent thermal treatment in air at 900 °C in order to obtain ß-Ga2O3 membranes. The as-grown GaN membranes were discovered to be completely transformed into ß-Ga2O3, with the morphology evolving from a smooth topography to a nanoperforated surface consisting of nanograin structures. The oxidation mechanism of the membrane was investigated under different annealing conditions followed by XPS, AFM, Raman and TEM analyses.

A bioinspired approach to fabricate fluorescent nanotubes with strong water adhesion by soft template electropolymerization and post-grafting.

HYPOTHESIS: In this original work, we aim to control both the surface wetting and fluorescence properties of extremely ordered and porous conducting polymer nanotubes prepared by soft template electropolymerization and post-grafting. For reaching this aim, various substituents of different hydrophobicity and fluorescence were post-grafted and the post-grafting yields were evaluated by surface analyses. We show that the used polymer is already fluorescent before post-grafting while the post-grafting yield and as a consequence the surface hydrophobicity highly depend on the substituent. EXPERIMENTS: Here, we have chosen to chemically grafting various fluorinated and aromatic substituents using a post-grafting in order to keep the same surface topography. Flat conducting polymer surfaces with similar properties have been also prepared for determining the surface energy with the Owens-Wendt equation and estimating the post-grafting yield by X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS) and Time of Flight Secondary Emission Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). For example, using fluorinated chains of various length (C4F9, C6F13 and C8F17), it is demonstrated that the surface hydrophobicity and oleophobicity do not increase with the fluorinated chain length due to the different post-grafting yields and because of the presence of nanoroughness after post-grafting. FINDINGS: These surfaces have high apparent water contact angle up to 130.5° but also strong water adhesion, comparable to rose petal effect even if there are no nanotubes on petal surface. XPS and ToF-SIMS analyses provided a detailed characterisation of the surface chemistry with a qualitative classification of the grafted surfaces (F6 > F4 > F8). SEM analysis shows that grafting does not alter the surface morphology. Finally, fluorescence analyses show that the polymer surfaces before post-treatment are already nicely fluorescent. Although the main goal of this paper was and is to understand the role of surface chemistry in tailoring the wetting properties of these surfaces rather than provide specific application examples, we believe that the obtained results can help the development of specific nanostructured materials for potential applications in liquid transport, or in stimuli responsive antimicrobial surfaces.

TiO2@BSA nano-composites investigated through orthogonal multi-techniques characterization platform.

Biocompatible coating based on bovine serum albumin (BSA) was applied on two different TiO2 nanoparticles (aeroxide P25 and food grade E171) to investigate properties and stability of resulting TiO2@BSA composites, under the final perspective to create a "Safe-by-Design" coating, able to uniform, level off and mitigate surface chemistry related phenomena, as naturally occurring when nano-phases come in touch with proteins enriched biological fluids. The first step towards validating the proposed approach is a detailed characterization of surface chemistry with the quantification of amount and stability of BSA coating deposited on nanoparticles' surfaces. At this purpose, we implemented an orthogonal multi-techniques characterization platform, providing important information on colloidal behavior, particle size distribution and BSA-coating structure of investigated TiO2 systems. Specifically, the proposed orthogonal approach enabled the quantitative determination of bound and free (not adsorbed) BSA, a key aspect for the design of intentionally BSA coated nano-structures, in nanomedicine and, overall, for the control of nano-surface reactivity. In fact, the BSA-coating strategy developed and the orthogonal characterisation performed can be extended to different designed nanomaterials in order to further investigate the protein-corona formation and promote the implementation of BSA engineered coating as a strategy to harmonize the surface reactivity and minimize the biological impact.

Role of Self-Assembled Surface Functionalization on Nucleation Kinetics and Oriented Crystallization of a Small-Molecule Drug: Batch and Thin-Film Growth of Aspirin as a Case Study.

The present paper assesses the heterogeneous nucleation of a small-molecule drug and its relationship with the surface chemistry of engineered heteronucleants. The nucleation of aspirin (ASA) was tuned by different functional groups exposed by self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) immobilized on glass surfaces. Smooth topographies and defect-free surface modification allowed the deconvolution of chemical and topographical effects on nucleation. The nucleation induction time of ASA in batch crystallization was mostly enhanced by methacrylate and amino groups, whereas it was repressed by thiol groups. In this perspective, we also present a novel strategy for the evaluation of surface-drug interactions by confining drug crystallization to thin films and studying the preferential growth of crystal planes on different surfaces. Crystallization by spin coating improved the study of oriented crystallization, enabling reproducible sample preparation, minimal amounts of drug required, and short processing time. Overall, the acid surface tension of SAMs dictated the nucleation kinetics and the extent of relative growth of the ASA crystal planes. Moreover, the face-selective action of monolayers was investigated by force spectroscopy and attributed to the preferential interaction of exposed groups with the (100) crystal plane of ASA.

General and adaptive synthesis protocol for high-quality organosilane self-assembled monolayers as tunable surface chemistry platforms for biochemical applications.

The controlled modification of surface properties represents a pervasive requirement to be fulfilled when developing new technologies. In this paper, we propose an easy-to-implement protocol for the functionalization of glass with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). The adaptivity of the synthesis route was demonstrated by the controlled anchoring of thiol, amino, glycidyloxy, and methacrylate groups onto the glass surface. The optimization of the synthetic pathway was mirrored by extremely smooth SAMs (approximately 150 pm roughness), layer thickness comparable to the theoretical molecule length, absence of silane islands along the surface, quasi-unitary degree of packing, and tailored wettability and charge. The functionalization kinetics of two model silanes, 3-mercapto- and 3-amino-propyltrimethoxysilane, was determined by cross-comparing x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry data. Our SAMs with tailored physicochemical attributes will be implemented as supports for the crystallization of pharmaceuticals and biomolecules in upcoming studies. Here, the application to a small molecule drug model, namely aspirin, was discussed as a proof of concept.

Aero-Ga2O3 Nanomaterial Electromagnetically Transparent from Microwaves to Terahertz for Internet of Things Applications.

In this paper, fabrication of a new material is reported, the so-called Aero-Ga2O3 or Aerogallox, which represents an ultra-porous and ultra-lightweight three-dimensional architecture made from interconnected microtubes of gallium oxide with nanometer thin walls. The material is fabricated using epitaxial growth of an ultrathin layer of gallium nitride on zinc oxide microtetrapods followed by decomposition of sacrificial ZnO and oxidation of GaN which according to the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) characterizations, is transformed gradually in ß-Ga2O3 with almost stoichiometric composition. The investigations show that the developed ultra-porous Aerogallox exhibits extremely low reflectivity and high transmissivity in an ultrabroadband electromagnetic spectrum ranging from X-band (8-12 GHz) to several terahertz which opens possibilities for quite new applications of gallium oxide, previously not anticipated.

Anti-biofouling activity of Ranaspumin-2 bio-surfactant immobilized on catechol-functional PMMA thin layers prepared by atmospheric plasma deposition.

The deposition of polymeric thin layers bearing reactive functional groups is a promising solution to provide functionality on otherwise inert surfaces, for instance, for bioconjugation purposes. Atmospheric pressure plasma (AP plasma) deposition technology offers many advantages, such as fast deposition rates, low costs, low waste generation and suitability for coating various kind of material surfaces. In this work, the AP plasma-assisted copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with a vinyl derivative of L-DOPA was studied in order to deposit coatings with reactive catechol/quinone groups suitable for protein covalent immobilization. The effect of adding a chemical cross-linker, between 0 and 2 mol%, to the monomer mixture is also studied in order to prepare robust plasma PMMA-based layers in liquid physiological media. The layer prepared with 0.2 mol% of cross-linker shows the best balance between stability in saline-buffered media and surface functionalization. Bioconjugation via the grafting of Ranaspumin-2 recombinant, a naturally occurring surfactant protein, is carried out in a single step after plasma deposition. Protein immobilization is corroborated by Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) analyses and confirmed via Epicocconone staining, X-Ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS) and Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) measurements and surface wettability characterizations. The bio-functionalized layers presented an enhanced activity against the adhesion of Human Serum Albumin (HSA), indicating the grafting potential of the Ranaspumin-2 bio-surfactant to produce anti-biofouling functional coatings.

Visible Light Assisted Organosilane Assembly on Mesoporous Silicon Films and Particles.

Porous silicon (PSi) is a versatile matrix with tailorable surface reactivity, which allows the processing of a range of multifunctional films and particles. The biomedical applications of PSi often require a surface capping with organic functionalities. This work shows that visible light can be used to catalyze the assembly of organosilanes on the PSi, as demonstrated with two organosilanes: aminopropyl-triethoxy-silane and perfluorodecyl-triethoxy-silane. We studied the process related to PSi films (PSiFs), which were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), time of flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) before and after a plasma patterning process. The analyses confirmed the surface oxidation and the anchorage of the organosilane backbone. We further highlighted the surface analytical potential of 13C, 19F and 29Si solid-state NMR (SS-NMR) as compared to Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in the characterization of functionalized PSi particles (PSiPs). The reduced invasiveness of the organosilanization regarding the PSiPs morphology was confirmed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and FESEM. Relevantly, the results obtained on PSiPs complemented those obtained on PSiFs. SS-NMR suggests a number of siloxane bonds between the organosilane and the PSiPs, which does not reach levels of maximum heterogeneous condensation, while ToF-SIMS suggested a certain degree of organosilane polymerization. Additionally, differences among the carbons in the organic (non-hydrolyzable) functionalizing groups are identified, especially in the case of the perfluorodecyl group. The spectroscopic characterization was used to propose a mechanism for the visible light activation of the organosilane assembly, which is based on the initial photoactivated oxidation of the PSi matrix.

Rational design of multi-functional gold nanoparticles with controlled biomolecule adsorption: a multi-method approach for in-depth characterization.

Multi-functionalized nanoparticles are of great interest in biotechnology and biomedicine, especially for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. However, at the moment the characterization of complex, multi-functional nanoparticles is still challenging and this hampers the development of advanced nanomaterials for biological applications. In this work, we have designed a model system consisting of gold nanoparticles functionalized with two differentially-terminated poly(ethylene oxide) ligands, providing both "stealth" properties and protein-binding capabilities to the nanoparticles. We use a combination of techniques (Centrifugal Liquid Sedimentation, Dynamic Light Scattering, Flow Field Flow Fractionation, Transmission Electron Microscopy, and Circular Dichroism) to: (i) monitor and quantify the ratios of ligand molecules per nanoparticle; (ii) determine the effect of coating density on non-specific protein adsorption; (iii) to assess the number and structure of the covalently-bound proteins. This article aims at comparing the complementary outcomes from typical and orthogonal techniques used in nanoparticle characterization by employing a versatile nanoparticle-ligands-biomolecule model system.

Highly specific targeting of human acute myeloid leukaemia cells using pharmacologically active nanoconjugates.

In this study we used 5 nm gold nanoparticles as delivery platforms to target cancer cells expressing the immune receptor Tim-3 using single chain antibodies. Gold surfaces were also covered with the cytotoxic drug rapamycin which was immobilised using a glutathione linker. These nanoconjugates allowed highly specific and efficient delivery of cytotoxic rapamycin into human malignant blood cells.

Influence of different cleaning processes on the surface chemistry of gold nanoparticles.

In this paper, the authors have investigated the effects of different cleaning methods (centrifugation and dialysis) on the surface chemistry and composition of 15 nm sodium citrate stabilized gold nanoparticles. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results indicate that three centrifugation cycles are sufficient to remove most of the citrate molecules, while centrifuged liquid sedimentation and dynamic light scattering data reveal some degree of nanoparticle aggregation when three centrifugation cycles are exceeded. Regarding the dialysis procedure, NMR analysis demonstrated that after nine cleaning cycles, the citrate concentration is comparable to that measured after the first centrifugation (about 6 × 10-4 M) but with an increase in the dispersion polydispersivity index as determined by dynamic light scattering. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results support the NMR findings and revealed a major hydrocarbon contamination after the nanoparticles cleaning process. The impact of cleaning on surface functionalization was tested using 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol hydrophobic thiols (PFT) to test thiol-citrate substitution. After 24 h exposure, the PFT coverage was less than 0.6 monolayer (ML) for both pristine nanoparticles and particles after three dialysis cycles, but about 0.8 ML after two centrifugation washes.

The Tim-3-galectin-9 Secretory Pathway is Involved in the Immune Escape of Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a severe and often fatal systemic malignancy. Malignant cells are capable of escaping host immune surveillance by inactivating cytotoxic lymphoid cells. In this work we discovered a fundamental molecular pathway, which includes ligand-dependent activation of ectopically expressed latrophilin 1 and possibly other G-protein coupled receptors leading to increased translation and exocytosis of the immune receptor Tim-3 and its ligand galectin-9. This occurs in a protein kinase C and mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin)-dependent manner. Tim-3 participates in galectin-9 secretion and is also released in a free soluble form. Galectin-9 impairs the anti-cancer activity of cytotoxic lymphoid cells including natural killer (NK) cells. Soluble Tim-3 prevents secretion of interleukin-2 (IL-2) required for the activation of cytotoxic lymphoid cells. These results were validated in ex vivo experiments using primary samples from AML patients. This pathway provides reliable targets for both highly specific diagnosis and immune therapy of AML.

Characterisation of nanomaterial hydrophobicity using engineered surfaces.

Characterisation of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) is of outmost importance for the assessment of the potential risks arising from their extensive use. NMs display indeed a large variety of physico-chemical properties that drastically affect their interaction with biological systems. Among them, hydrophobicity is an important property that is nevertheless only slightly covered by the current physico-chemical characterisation techniques. In this work, we developed a method for the direct characterisation of NM hydrophobicity. The determination of the nanomaterial hydrophobic character is carried out by the direct measurement of the affinity of the NMs for different collectors. Each collector is an engineered surface designed in order to present specific surface charge and hydrophobicity degrees. Being thus characterised by a combination of surface energy components, the collectors enable the NM immobilisation with surface coverage in relation to their hydrophobicity. The experimental results are explained by using the extended DLVO theory, which takes into account the hydrophobic forces acting between NMs and collectors. Graphical abstractDetermination of hydrophobicity character of nanomaterials by measuring their affinity to engineered surfaces.

Structural and Thermodynamic Properties of Nanoparticle-Protein Complexes: A Combined SAXS and SANS Study.

We propose a novel method for determining the structural and thermodynamic properties of nanoparticle-protein complexes under physiological conditions. The method consists of collecting a full set of small-angle X-ray and neutron-scattering measurements in solutions with different concentrations of nanoparticles and protein. The nanoparticle-protein dissociation process is described in the framework of the Hill cooperative model, based on which the whole set of X-ray and neutron-scattering data is fitted simultaneously. This method is applied to water solutions of gold nanoparticles in the presence of human serum albumin without any previous manipulation and can be, in principle, extended to all systems. We demonstrate that the protein dissociation constant, the Hill coefficient, and the stoichiometry of the nanoparticle-protein complex are obtained with a high degree of confidence.