Caterina Zanette

Nanoparticle dermal absorption and toxicity: a review of the literature

IntroductionNanotechnologies are among the fastest growing areas of scientific research and have important applications in a wide variety of fields. The data suggest that in the future workers and consumers exposed to nanoparticles will significantly increase.Dermal absorption and toxicity of nanoparticlesAt now there are gaps in understanding about the human and environmental risk that manufactured nanoparticles pose for occupational exposed people and for consumers. There is a need for assessing the health and environmental impacts, the nanoparticles life cycle, the human exposure routes, the behavior of nanoparticles in the body, and the risk for workers. Possible routes of entry into the body include inhalation, absorption through the skin or digestive tract, injection, and absorption or implantation for drugs delivery systems. In particular, dermal absorption and skin penetration of nanoparticles needs a better evaluation because few and contradictory data are present in the literature, mainly on titanium dioxide.ConclusionsThere are limited data on carbon-based nanoparticles and very few data on other metal nanoparticles increasingly used in industry. The article reviews the literature on the percutaneous absorption of nanoparticles and their effect on skin.

Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Three-Dimensional in Silico Pharmacophore Model for σ1 Receptor Ligands Based on a Series of Substituted Benzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one Derivatives

Novel benzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one derivatives were designed and synthesized, and their affinities against sigma receptors were evaluated. On the basis of 31 compounds, a three-dimensional pharmacophore model for the sigma(1) receptor binding site was developed using the Catalyst 4.9 software package. The best 3D pharmacophore hypothesis, consisting of one positive ionizable, one hydrogen bond acceptor, two hydrophobic aromatic, and one hydrophobic features provided a 3D-QSAR model with a correlation coefficient of 0.89. The best hypothesis was also validated by three independent methods, i.e., the Fisher randomization test included in the CatScramble functionality of Catalyst, the leave-one-out test, and activity prediction of an additional test set. The achieved results will allow researchers to use this 3D pharmacophore model for the design and synthesis of a second generation of high affinity sigma(1) ligands, as well as to discover other lead compounds for this class of receptors.

Silver nanoparticles exert a long-lasting antiproliferative effect on human keratinocyte HaCaT cell line.

For their antibacterial activity, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are largely used in various commercially available products designed to come in direct contact with the skin. In this study we investigated the effects of Ag NPs on skin using the human-derived keratinocyte HaCaT cell line model. Ag NPs caused a concentration- and time-dependent decrease of cell viability, with IC(50) values of 6.8 ± 1.3 μM (MTT assay) and 12 ± 1.2 μM (SRB assay) after 7 days of contact. A 24h treatment, followed by a 6 day recovery period in Ag NPs-free medium, reduced cell viability with almost the same potency (IC(50)s of 15.3 ± 4.6 and 35 ± 20 μM, MTT and SRB assays, respectively). Under these conditions, no evidence of induction of necrotic events (propidium iodide assay) was found. Apocynin, NADPH-oxidase inhibitor, or N(G)-monomethyl-L-argynine, nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, did not prevent NPs-induced reduction of cell viability. TEM analysis of cells exposed to NPs for 24h revealed alteration of nuclear morphology but only a marginal presence of individual NPs inside the cells. These results demonstrate that on HaCaT keratinocytes a relatively short time of contact with Ag NPs causes a long-lasting inhibition of cell growth, not associated with consistent Ag NPs internalization.

A 3D-pharmacophore model for σ2 receptors based on a series of substituted benzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one derivatives

In this work we developed a 3D-pharmacophore model for sigma(2) receptor based on 19 benzooxazolone derivatives. The best 3D-pharmacophore hypothesis, consisting of five features: a positive ionizable, a hydrogen bond acceptor, a hydrophobic aromatic, a hydrophobic aliphatic, and a generic hydrophobic provided a 3D-QSAR model with a correlation coefficient of 0.97 and a RMSD of 0.48.

Substituted benzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one derivatives with preference for the σ1 binding site

We describe here the synthesis and the binding interaction with sigma(1) and sigma(2) receptors of a series of new benzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one derivatives variously substituted on the N-benzyl moiety. The results of binding studies confirm the notion that the benzoxazolone moiety confers preference towards sigma(1) sites and establish that the ability to bind to sigma(1), but not to sigma(2) receptors, is strongly affected by the kind and the position of the substituents introduced in the N-benzyl ring. In fact, compounds with substitutions in para-position with atoms of Cl, H or F or with a CH(3) group exhibit a higher affinity for sigma(1) receptors than the corresponding ortho-substituted compounds. The highest affinity and selectivity, with K(i) values of 0.1 and 427 nM for sigma(1) and sigma(2) receptors, respectively, and a corresponding K(i)sigma(2)/K(i)sigma(1) selectivity ratio of 4270 were found for the Cl-substituted compound. These results indicate that benzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one derivatives are among the most selective and sigma(1) receptor-preferring ligands currently available.

Design, synthesis and SAR analysis of novel selective σ1 ligands (Part 2)

In order to investigate the molecular features involved in sigma receptors (sigma-Rs) binding, new compounds based on arylalkylaminoalcoholic, arylalkenyl- and arylalkylaminic scaffolds were synthesized and their affinity towards sigma(1)- and sigma(2)-Rs subtypes was evaluated. The most promising compounds were also screened for their affinity at micro-opioid, delta-opioid and kappa-opioid receptors. Biological results are herein presented and discussed.