Xiaoke Hu

Using nano-QSAR to predict the cytotoxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles

It is expected that the number and variety of engineered nanoparticles will increase rapidly over the next few years, and there is a need for new methods to quickly test the potential toxicity of these materials. Because experimental evaluation of the safety of chemicals is expensive and time-consuming, computational methods have been found to be efficient alternatives for predicting the potential toxicity and environmental impact of new nanomaterials before mass production. Here, we show that the quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) method commonly used to predict the physicochemical properties of chemical compounds can be applied to predict the toxicity of various metal oxides. Based on experimental testing, we have developed a model to describe the cytotoxicity of 17 different types of metal oxide nanoparticles to bacteria Escherichia coli. The model reliably predicts the toxicity of all considered compounds, and the methodology is expected to provide guidance for the future design of safe nanomaterials.

In vitro evaluation of cytotoxicity of engineered metal oxide nanoparticles.

The recent advances in nanotechnology and the corresponding popular usage of nanomaterials have resulted in uncertainties regarding their environmental impacts. In this study, we used a systematic approach to study and compare the in vitro cytotoxicity of selected engineered metal oxide nanoparticles to the test organisms--E. coli. Among the seven test nano-sized metal oxides, ZnO, CuO, Al2O3, La2O3, Fe2O3, SnO2 and TiO2, ZnO showed the lowest LD(50) of 21.1 mg/L and TiO2 had the highest LD(50) of 1104.8 mg/L. Data of 14C-glucose mineralization test paralleled the results of bacteria viability test. After regression calculation, the cytotoxicity was found to be correlated with cation charges (R(2) = 0.9785). The higher the cation charge is, the lower the cytotoxicity of the nano-sized metal oxide becomes. To the best of our knowledge, this finding is the first report in nanotoxicology.

In vitro evaluation of cytotoxicity of engineered carbon nanotubes in selected human cell lines

In this study, we used a systematic approach to study and compare the in vitro cytotoxicity of selected engineered carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to test cell lines including human skin keratinocytes, lung cells and lymphocytes. Results of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) uptake in T4 lymphocyte A3 cells indicated cytotoxicity caused by single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) at concentrations of 2, 5 and 10ppm. At 2ppm, the SWCNT treatment group retained 71.3% viability compared to the PBS control group. At 10ppm, cellular viability further decreased to 56.5% of the PBS control group. In the skin keratinocyte HaCaT cells and lung MSTO-211H cells, the SWCNT did not demonstrate any cytotoxicity at concentrations of 2 and 5ppm but slightly inhibited HaCaT cells and caused significant toxicity to MSTO-211H cells at 10ppm. Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) testing showed significant cytotoxicity to A3 cells in a dose-dependent manner. At 10ppm the viability of the cells decreased to 89.1% compared to the PBS control. In MSTO-211H cells, MWCNT caused significant toxicity at concentrations of 2ppm and higher. By comparison, HaCaT cells were inhibited significantly only at 10ppm. Overall, the test CNTs inhibited cellular viabilities in a concentration, cell type, and CNT type-dependent pattern. The viabilities of the MWCNT-impacted cells are higher than the corresponding SWCNT groups. We speculate that on a per volume basis, the greater availability of defects and contaminants for cellular interaction may contribute to the higher cytotoxicity of SWCNT in this study. The interaction between the SWCNTs and A3 lymphocytes was also observed by scanning electron microscopy. The mechanism for causing cell death in this study was attributed to apoptosis and necrosis after physical penetration by CNTs and oxidative stress via formation of reactive oxygen species.

Promotive effects of alginate-derived oligosaccharide on maize seed germination

The influence of alginate-derived oligosaccharide (molecular weight 1445 Da) was tested on the maize seed germination at different concentrations. Assays of α-and β-amylase and protease activities showed the highest response at 0.75‰.Compared with the control, root growth on days 3 and 7 showed increases of 34% and18%, respectively; and shoot growth on day 7 an increase of 46%. In the case of protease activity, treatments with both 0.75‰ and 1.50‰ alginate-derived oligosaccharide gave higher activities than the control. These results indicate that the rate of seed germination was enhanced by increasing the activities of several enzymes beneficial for germination.

Long wavelength red fluorescent dyes from 3,5-diiodo-BODIPYs

Amphiphilic and long wavelength red fluorescent dyes (4 and 7) were prepared from the Sonogashira coupling reactions of 3,5-diiodo-BODIPYs (1 and 6). One of these compounds, BODIPY 7, readily accumulated within human carcinoma HEp2 cells and was found to localize mainly within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER).

In vitro antioxidative activities of three marine oligosaccharides

The antioxidant activities of three marine oligosaccharides, alginate oligosaccharides (AOs), chitosan oligosaccharides (COs), and fucoidan oligosaccharides (FOs), were investigated in vitro by several antioxidant assays, including hydroxyl radical scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, erythrocyte hemolysis inhibiting, metal chelating activities, and anti-lipid peroxidation. The results show that these oligosaccharides exhibited different activities in various assays. AOs had the highest scavenging hydroxyl radical activity than FOs and COs at all the tested amounts. COs had the highest scavenging superoxide radical and inhibiting erythrocyte hemolysis activity than AOs and FOs at all the tested amounts. In the assay of chelating Fe2+, COs and FOs indicated good chelation while AOs hardly had any activity. In the assay of anti-lipid peroxidation, only COs had significantly high antioxidant activity.

Synthesis, computational modeling, and properties of benzo-appended BODIPYs.

A series of new functionalized mono- and dibenzo-appended BODIPY dyes were synthesized from a common tetrahydroisoindole precursor following two different synthetic routes. Route A involved the assembly of the BODIPY core prior to aromatization, while in Route B the aromatization step was performed first. In general, Route A gave higher yields of the target dibenzo-BODIPYs, due to the ease of aromatization of the BODIPYs compared with the corresponding dipyrromethenes, probably due to their higher stability under the oxidative conditions (2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone in refluxing toluene). However, due to the slow oxidation of highly electron-deficient BODIPY 3 c bearing a meso-C(6)F(5) group, dibenzo-BODIPY 4 c was obtained, in 35 % overall from dipyrromethane, only by Route B. Computational calculations performed at the 6-31G(d,p) level are in agreement with the experimental results, showing similar relative energies for all reaction intermediates in both routes. In addition, BODIPY 3 c had the highest molecular electrostatic potential (MEPN), confirming its high electron deficiency and consequent resistance toward oxidation. X-ray analyses of eight BODIPYs and several intermediates show that benzannulation further enhances the planarity of these systems. The π-extended BODIPYs show strong red-shifted absorptions and emissions, about 50-60 nm per benzoannulated ring, at 589-658 and 596-680 nm, respectively. In particular, db-BODIPY 4 c bearing a meso-C(6)F(5) group showed the longest λ(max) of absorption and emission, along with the lowest fluorescence quantum yield (0.31 in CH(2)Cl(2)); on the other hand monobenzo-BODIPY 8 showed the highest quantum yield (0.99) of this series. Cellular investigations using human carcinoma HEp2 cells revealed high plasma membrane permeability for all dibenzo-BODIPYs, low dark- and photo-cytotoxicities and intracellular localization in the cell endoplasmic reticulum, in addition to other organelles. Our studies indicate that benzo-appended BODIPYs, in particular the highly stable meso-substituted BODIPYs, are promising fluorophores for bioimaging applications.

Phthalocyanine-Peptide Conjugates for Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Targeting

Four phthalocyanine (Pc)-peptide conjugates designed to target the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were synthesized and evaluated in vitro using four cell lines: human carcinoma A431 and HEp2, human colorectal HT-29, and kidney Vero (negative control) cells. Two peptide ligands for EGFR were investigated: EGFR-L1 and -L2, bearing 6 and 13 amino acid residues, respectively. The peptides and Pc-conjugates were shown to bind to EGFR using both theoretical (Autodock) and experimental (SPR) investigations. The Pc-EGFR-L1 conjugates 5a and 5b efficiently targeted EGFR and were internalized, in part due to their cationic charge, whereas the uncharged Pc-EGFR-L2 conjugates 4b and 6a poorly targeted EGFR maybe due to their low aqueous solubility. All conjugates were nontoxic (IC(50) > 100 μM) to HT-29 cells, both in the dark and upon light activation (1 J/cm(2)). Intravenous (iv) administration of conjugate 5b into nude mice bearing A431 and HT-29 human tumor xenografts resulted in a near-IR fluorescence signal at ca. 700 nm, 24 h after administration. Our studies show that Pc-EGFR-L1 conjugates are promising near-IR fluorescent contrast agents for CRC and potentially other EGFR overexpressing cancers.

Accessing near-infrared-absorbing BF2-azadipyrromethenes via a push-pull effect.

Novel aza-BODIPYs with significant bathochromic shifts were designed and synthesized by installation of strong electron-withdrawing groups on the para-positions of 1,7-phenyls and electron-donating groups on the para-positions of 3,4-phenyls. These dyes show strong NIR fluorescence emissions up to 756 nm, and absorptions up to 720 nm.

Functionalized polypyrrole nanotube arrays as electrochemical biosensor for the determination of copper ions

A novel electrochemical biosensor based on functionalized polypyrrole (PPy) nanotube arrays modified with a tripeptide (Gly-Gly-His) proved to be highly effective for electrochemical analysis of copper ions (Cu(2+)). The vertically oriented PPy nanotube arrays were electropolymerized by using modified zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays as templates which were electrodeposited on indium-tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates. The electrodes were functionalized by appending pyrrole-α-carboxylic acid onto the surface of polypyrrole nanotube arrays by electrochemical polymerization. The carboxylic groups of the polymer were covalently coupled with the amine groups of the tripeptide, and its structural features were confirmed by attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy. The tripeptide modified PPy nanotube arrays electrode was used for the electrochemical analysis of various trace copper ions by square wave voltammetry. The electrode was found to be highly sensitive and selective to Cu(2+) in the range of 0.1-30 μM. Furthermore, the developed biosensor exhibited a high stability and reproducibility, despite the repeated use of the biosensor electrode.