Yuh-Jeen Huang

EFFECTS OF VARIOUS PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS ON THE TOXICITIES OF ZNO AND TIO2 NANOPARTICLES TOWARD HUMAN LUNG EPITHELIAL CELLS

Although novel nanomaterials are being produced and applied in our daily lives at a rapid pace, related health and environmental toxicity assessments are lagging behind. Recent reports have concluded that the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) have a crucial influence on their toxicities and should be evaluated during risk assessments. Nevertheless, several controversies exist regarding the biological effects of NP size and surface area. In addition, relatively few reports describe the extents to which the physicochemical properties of NPs influence their toxicity. In this study, we used six self-synthesized and two commercial ZnO and TiO₂ nanomaterials to evaluate the effects of the major physicochemical properties of NPs (size, shape, surface area, phase, and composition) on human lung epithelium cells (A549). We characterized these NPs using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method, and dynamic laser scattering. From methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) and Interleukin 8 (IL-8) assays of both rod- and sphere-like ZnO NPs, we found that smaller NPs had greater toxicity than larger ones--a finding that differs from those of previous studies. Furthermore, at a fixed NP size and surface area, we found that the nanorod ZnO particles were more toxic than the corresponding spherical ones, suggesting that both the size and shape of ZnO NPs influence their cytotoxicity. In terms of the effect of the surface area, we found that the contact area between a single NP and a single cell was more important than the total specific surface area of the NP. All of the TiO₂ NP samples exhibited cytotoxicities lower than those of the ZnO NP samples; among the TiO₂ NPs, the cytotoxicity increased in the following order: amorphous>anatase>anatase/rutile; thus, the phase of the NPs can also play an important role under size-, surface area-, and shape-controlled conditions.

Fate of bromine in pyrolysis of printed circuit board wastes.

Behavior of Br in pyrolysis of the printed circuit board waste with valuable copper and oil recycling has been studied in the present work. Experimentally, pyrolysis of the printed circuit board waste generated approximately 40.6% of oils, 24.9% of noncondensible gases and 34.5% of solid residues that enriched in copper (90-95%). The cuts of the oils produced from pyrolysis of the printed circuit board waste into weighted boiling fraction were primarily light naphtha and heavy gas oil. Approximately 72.3% of total Br in the printed circuit board waste were found in product gas mainly as HBr and bromobenzene. However, by extended X-ray absorption fine structural (EXAFS) spectroscopy, Cu-O and Cu-(O)-Cu species with bond distance of 1.87 and 2.95 A, respectively, were observed in the solid residues. Essentially, no Cu-Br species was found.

Microscopic FTIR studies of lung cancer cells in pleural fluid

Structural changes associated with lung cancer and tuberculous cells in pleural fluid were studied by microscopic FTIR spectroscopy. Infrared spectra demonstrate significant spectral differences between normal, lung cancer and tuberculous cells. The ratio of the peak intensities of the 1030 and 1080 cm-1 bands (originated mainly in glycogen and phosphodiester groups of nucleic acids) differs greatly between normal and lung cancer samples. Such findings prompt the consideration that recording infrared spectra from lung cancer and tuberculous cells may be of diagnostic value. Since measurements of IR spectra of lung cancer cells in the pleural fluid can be a very rapid inexpensive process, our finding warrant exploration of this possibility in the investigation of the mechanism whereby the environmental pollution related cancers develop.

Synthesis of zeolite ZSM-48 from rice husk ash

Abstract Zeolite ZSM-48 with a very high crystallinity (99% + ) can be synthesized from a reaction mixture containing a silica source from rice husk gasification ash. The difference in the cracking behavior of n -hexane for zeolites ZSM-5 and ZSM-48 may be attributed to the unique two-dimensional channel structure for the ZSM-48. The ammonia desorption data also indicate that the influence of the channel system of ZSM-48 could play an important role in the molecular traffic control.

Pyrolysis kinetics of refuse-derived fuel

Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) was mechanically separated from municipal solid waste (MSW) in a 300 TPD (tons per day) waste pretreatment plant. Pyrolysis of the RDF produced approximately 28% of oils, and 30% of noncondensible hydrocarbon gases and 42% of solid residues at 773 K. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques were used in quantitative prediction of the RDF pyrolysis rate. The global pyrolysis reaction rate was calculated from key component fractions (paper, LDPE, HDPE, PS, and PVC) of RDF using the weighed sum method. Good agreement was found in pyrolysis kinetics between RDF itself and the weighed sum method of the plastic components in RDF. Pyrolysis of RDF in the fixed-bed reactor also had a similar result. This approach allows one to easily account for RDF composition variations, thus rendering the model more generally valid.

Silver nanoparticles affect on gene expression of inflammatory and neurodegenerative responses in mouse brain neural cells.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have antibacterial characteristics, and currently are applied in Ag-containing products. This study found neural cells can uptake 3-5 nm AgNPs, and investigated the potential effects of AgNPs on gene expression of inflammation and neurodegenerative disorder in murine brain ALT astrocytes, microglial BV-2 cells and neuron N2a cells. After AgNPs (5, 10, 12.5 μg/ml) exposure, these neural cells had obviously increased IL-1β secretion, and induced gene expression of C-X-C motif chemokine 13 (CXCL13), macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO) and glutathione synthetase (GSS) for inflammatory response and oxidative stress neutralization. Additionally, this study found amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques for pathological feature of Alzheimers disease (AD) deposited in neural cells after AgNPs treatment. After AgNPs exposure, the gene expression of amyloid precursor protein (APP) was induced, and otherwise, neprilysin (NEP) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) were reduced in neural cells as well as protein level. These results suggested AgNPs could alter gene and protein expressions of Aβ deposition potentially to induce AD progress in neural cells. Its necessary to take notice of AgNPs distribution in the environment.

Speciation of copper in ZSM-48 during NO reduction

Speciation of copper in ZSM-48 and MCM-41 was studied by in situ extended X-ray absorption fine structural (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near edge structural (XANES) spectroscopies to reveal the abrupt changes in yields of N2O, NO2 and CO2 from the catalytic reduction of NO with CO at 673 K. Component fitted XANES spectra showed that oxygen was inserted into the metallic copper (Cu(0)) in ZSM-48 and MCM-41 during NO reduction. In the confined channels of ZSM-48, about 91% of total copper was Cu(I) that involved in the catalytic reduction of NO with CO at 673 K. By in situ EXAFS, we found that during the NO reduction process, the oxygen-inserted copper possessed Cu–O, Cu–Cu, and Cu–(O)–Cu bond distances of 1.88, 2.61 and 2.95 A, respectively, suggesting the possible existence of a linear type cluster with an averaged structure of Cu2O in ZSM-48. Furthermore, in the channels of ZSM-48, due to the restricted diffusion, NO reduction as well as CO oxidation might primarily occur at the head or end of the clusters. Note that NO could penetrate into ZSM-48 containing the clusters. On the contrary, in the parallel experiment, mainly CuO was observed in the mesopores (∼32 A) of MCM-41.

Catalytic reduction of NO on copper/MCM-41 studied by in situ EXAFS and XANES

Speciation of copper in the channels of MCM-41 during reduction of NO with CO at 473-773 K was studied by in situ extended X-ray absorption fine structural (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near edge structural (XANES) spectroscopies in the present work. The component fitted (in situ) XANES spectra of the catalyst showed that about 72% of metallic copper (Cu(0)) in MCM-41 was oxidized to higher oxidation state coppers (Cu(II) (46%) and Cu(I) (26%)) during the NO reduction process (at 473 K). By EXAFS, we also found that in the NO reduction process, oxygen was inserted into the metallic copper matrix and led to a formation of the copper oxide species with a Cu-O bond distance of 1.93 A which was greater than that of the model compound Cu(2)O (typically 1.86 A). At 573-673 K, mainly Cu(II) was found in the channels of MCM-41. Nevertheless, at a higher temperature (e.g., 773 K), about 61% Cu(I), 31% Cu(II), and 8% Cu(O) with averaged Cu-Cu and Cu-O bond distances of 3.04 and 1.88 A, respectively were observed, that might account for the high selectivity-to-decomposition (S/D) ratios for yields of N(2) and CO(2) in the catalytic reduction of NO with CO.

Influence of silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles on in vitro blood-brain barrier permeability

An in vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) model being composed of co-culture with endothelial (bEnd.3) and astrocyte-like (ALT) cells was established to evaluate the toxicity and permeability of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs; 8nm) and TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2NPs; 6nm and 35nm) in normal and inflammatory central nervous system. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was pre-treated to simulate the inflammatory responses. Both AgNPs and Ag ions can decrease transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) value, and cause discontinuous tight junction proteins (claudin-5 and zonula occludens-1) of BBB. However, only the Ag ions induced inflammatory cytokines to release, and had less cell-to-cell permeability than AgNPs, which indicated that the toxicity of AgNPs was distinct from Ag ions. LPS itself disrupted BBB, while co-treatment with AgNPs and LPS dramatically enhanced the disruption and permeability coefficient. On the other hand, TiO2NPs exposure increased BBB penetration by size, and disrupted tight junction proteins without size dependence, and many of TiO2NPs accumulated in the endothelial cells were observed. This study provided the new insight of toxic potency of AgNPs and TiO2NPs in BBB.

Photodecomposition of Water Catalyzed by Zr- and Ti-MCM-41

Experimentally incorporated Zr or Ti into the framework of MCM-41 could enhance the photocatalytic decomposition of H2O to H2. The hydrogen yield, for instance, on Zr-MCM-41 was about 7 mmol H2/hr-gZrO2. The enhancement of Zr-MCM-41 was over 80 times if compared to the bulk ZrO2. The Ti-MCM-41 also possessed an enhancement of about 17 times for the H2 yield (over TiO2).