Multi-walled carbon nanotubes affect drug transport across cell membrane in rat astrocytes

Inhibition of Xenobiotics Transporters’ Efflux Ability after Nanoplastics Exposure in Larval Japanese Medaka

Nanoplastics can enter into the aquatic environment as primary nano-sized or fragmented from larger-sized plastic particles, and their ecological effects and environmental fate have aroused increasing public concerns. Here, we identified the disruption of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) efflux after polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics (76 ± 7 nm) exposure in larval Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Nanoplastics (0.001–10 μg/mL) caused 3–6-fold higher lipid peroxidation in fish larvae than the control, with concomitant downregulated expression of efflux transporter-related genes (abcb6a, abcc2, abcg2). Two probes of rhodamine (indicative of p-glycoprotein function for parent compounds’ efflux, P-gp) and fluorescein (indicative of multidrug resistance-associated protein function for metabolites’ efflux, MRP) were further used to verify the inhibited ABC efflux ability, via rhodamine and fluorescein bioaccumulation results. Three-fold higher accumulation of rhodamine was observed following treatment with 10 μg/mL of nanoplastics. Excessive accumulation also occurred for fluorescein, with 1.7–1.8-fold higher concentrations than controls in larvae treated with 0.01–0.1 μg/mL of nanoplastics. Although the inhibition of ABC transporters diminished after two hours of depuration, the co-existence of nanoplastics and other contaminants still raises concerns. Collectively, this study suggests that nanoplastics can negatively impact ABC transporters’ efflux ability and could cause unanticipated accumulation of co-existing organic pollutants in aquatic organisms.

Fish Ingest Microplastics Unintentionally

Microplastics (size of plastic debris <5 mm) occur in various environments worldwide these days and cause detrimental effects on biota. However, the behavioral responses of fish to microplastics in feeding processes are not well understood. In the present study, juveniles from four fish species and two common shapes of microplastics were used to explore fish feeding responses. We found swallowing-feeding fish ingested more pellets than filtering- and sucking-feeding fish. With high-definition and high-speed observational experiments, we found that all species did not actively capture microfibers; instead, they passively sucked in microfibers while breathing. Surprisingly, fish showed a rejective behavior, which was spontaneously coughing up microfibers mixed with mucus. Nevertheless, some of the microfibers were still found in the gastrointestinal tracts and gills of fish, while abundances of ingested microfibers were increased in the presence of food. Our findings reveal a common phenomenon that fish ingest microplastics inadvertently rather than intentionally. We also provide insights into the pathways via which microplastics enter fish and potential strategies to assess future ecological risk and food safety related to microplastics.

Fullerene inhibits benzo(a)pyrene Efflux from Cyprinus carpio hepatocytes by affecting cell membrane fluidity and P-glycoprotein expression

P-Glycoprotein (P-gp) can protect cells by pumping out toxic compounds, and has been found widely expressed in fish tissues. Here, we illustrate the P-gp efflux ability for benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in the hepatocytes of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) after exposing to fullerene aqueous suspension (nC60). The results revealed that nC60 increased the membrane fluidity by decreasing the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids, and increased the cholesterol contents. These findings, combined with 10-38% and 70-75% down-regulation of P-gp mRNA and protein respectively, suggested that nC60 caused inhibition on P-gp efflux transport system. Therefore, we further investigated the cellular efflux ability for BaP. Results showed unequivocally that nC60 is a potent P-gp inhibitor. The retaining BaP amounts after efflux were elevated by 1.7-2.8 fold during the 10 day exposure. Meanwhile, 5mg/L humic acid (one of the important fractions of natural organic matter, which is ubiquitous in aquatic environment) alleviated the nC60 damage to hepatocytes in terms of oxidative damage, cholesterol increment, and P-gp content reduction; and finally attenuated the suppressed P-gp efflux ability. Collectively, this study provides the first evidence of nC60 toxicity to P-gp functionality in fish and illustrates the possible mechanism of the suppressed P-gp efflux ability for BaP.

Interactions of multiwalled carbon nanotubes with algal cells: quantification of association, visualization of uptake, and measurement of alterations in the composition of cells

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are considered promising materials in nanotechnology. We quantified CNT accumulation by the alga Desmodesmus subspicatus. Cells were exposed to radiolabeled CNTs ((14)C-CNTs;1 mg/L) to determine uptake and association, as well as elimination and dissociation in clear media.Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was used to detect effects of CNTs on algae. CNT-cell interactions were visualized by electron microscopy and related to alterations in their cell composition. A concentration factor of 5000 L/kg dry weight was calculated. Most of the material agglomerated around the cells, but single tubes were detected in the cytoplasm. Computational analyses of the ATR-FTIR data showed that CNT treated algae differed from controls at all sampling times.CNT exposure changed the biochemical composition of cells. The fact that CNTs are bioavailable for algae and that they influence the cell composition is important with regard to environmental risk assessment of this nanomaterial.

Polymers influencing transportability profile of drug

Drug release from various polymers is generally governed by the type of polymer/s incorporated in the formulation and mechanism of drug release from polymer/s. A single polymer may show one or more mechanisms of drug release out of which one mechanism is majorly followed for drug release. Some of the common mechanisms of drug release from polymers were, diffusion, swelling, matrix release, leaching of drug, etc. Mechanism or rate of drug release from a polymer or a combination of polymers can be predicted by using different computational methods or models. These models were capable of predicting drug release from its dosage form in advance without actual formulation and testing of drug release from dosage form. Quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) is an important tool used in the prediction of various physicochemical properties of actives as well as inactives. Since last several decades QSPR has been applied in new drug development for reducing the total number of drugs to be synthesized, as it involves a selection of the most desirable compound of interest. This technique was also applied in predicting in vivo performance of drug/s for various parameters. QSPR serves as a predictive tool to correlate structural descriptors of molecules with biological as well as physicochemical properties. Several researchers have contributed at different extents in this area to modify various properties of pharmaceuticals. The present review is focused on a study of different polymers that influence the transportability profiles of drugs along with the application of QSPR either to study different properties of polymers that regulate drug release or in predicting drug transportability from different polymer systems used in formulations.

Modulation of apoptotic pathways of macrophages by surface-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Biomedical applications of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) often involve improving their hydrophilicity and dispersion in biological media by modifying them through noncovalent or covalent functionalization. However, the potential adverse effects of surface-functionalized CNTs have not been well characterized. In this study, we functionalized multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) via carboxylation, to produce MWCNTs-COOH, and via poly (ethylene glycol) linking, to produce MWCNTs-PEG. We used these functionalized MWCNTs to study the effect of surface functionalization on MWCNTs-induced toxicity to macrophages, and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of action. Our results revealed that MWCNTs-PEG were less cytotoxic and were associated with less apoptotic cell death of macrophages than MWCNTs-COOH. Additionally, MWCNTs-PEG induced less generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) involving less activation of NADPH oxidase compared with MWCNTs-COOH, as evidenced by membrane translocation of p47^phox and p67^phox in macrophages. The less cytotoxic and apoptotic effect of MWCNTs-PEG compared with MWCNTs-COOH resulted from the lower cellular uptake of MWCNTs-PEG, which resulted in less activation of oxidative stress-responsive pathways, such as p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB. These results demonstrate that surface functionalization of CNTs may alter ROS-mediated cytotoxic and apoptotic response by modulating apoptotic signaling pathways. Our study thus provides new insights into the molecular basis for the surface properties affecting CNTs toxicity.

Carbon nanotubes linked with pitavastatin: synthesis and characterisation

The paper presents a study on functionalisation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the area of lattice defects and an attempt to bind the nanotubes with pitavastatin. Carbon nanotubes were synthesised by alcohol-chemical vapour deposition in the presence of the catalyst Fe-Co/MgO. The nanotubes were purified and the product was subjected to chemical functionalisation. Functional groups were introduced in the reaction of the purified nanotubes with thionyl chloride to obtain acidic chlorides linked to pitavastatin. The properties and structure of the nanotubes were analysed by FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies, transmission electron microscopy and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Photochemical stability of pitavastatin linked with carbon nanotubes has been found to be increased.