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Filipić A, Dobnik D, Gutiérrez-Aguirre I, Ravnikar M, Košir T, Baebler Š, Štern A, Žegura B, Petkovšek M, Dular M, Mozetič M, Zaplotnik R, Primc G. Cold plasma within a stable supercavitation bubble - A breakthrough technology for efficient inactivation of viruses in water. Environ Int 2023; 182:108285. [PMID: 37972530 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/22/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Water scarcity, one of the most pressing challenges we face today, has developed for many reasons, including the increasing number of waterborne pollutants that affect the safety of the water environment. Waterborne human, animal and plant viruses represent huge health, environmental, and financial burden and thus it is important to efficiently inactivate them. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to construct a unique device combining plasma with supercavitation and to evaluate its efficiency for water decontamination with the emphasis on inactivation of viruses. High inactivation (>5 log10 PFU/mL) of bacteriophage MS2, a human enteric virus surrogate, was achieved after treatment of 0.43 L of recirculating water for up to 4 min. The key factors in the inactivation were short-lived reactive plasma species that damaged viral RNA. Water treated with plasma for a short time required for successful virus inactivation did not cause cytotoxic effects in the in vitro HepG2 cell model system or adverse effects on potato plant physiology. Therefore, the combined plasma-supercavitation device represents an environmentally-friendly technology that could provide contamination-free and safe water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arijana Filipić
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - David Dobnik
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ion Gutiérrez-Aguirre
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Maja Ravnikar
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tamara Košir
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Špela Baebler
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Alja Štern
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Bojana Žegura
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Martin Petkovšek
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Matevž Dular
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Miran Mozetič
- Department of Surface Engineering, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Rok Zaplotnik
- Department of Surface Engineering, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Primc
- Department of Surface Engineering, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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Jurko L, Makuc D, Štern A, Plavec J, Žegura B, Bošković P, Kargl R. Cytotoxicity and Antibacterial Efficacy of Betaine- and Choline-Substituted Polymers. ACS Appl Polym Mater 2023; 5:5270-5279. [PMID: 37469879 PMCID: PMC10353005 DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.3c00691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Cationic charge has been widely used to increase polymer adsorption and flocculation of dispersions or to provide antimicrobial activity. In this work, cationization of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was achieved by covalently coupling betaine hydrochloride and choline chloride to the polymer backbones through carbonyl diimidazole (CDI) activation. Two approaches for activation were investigated. CDI in excess was used to activate the polymers' hydroxyls followed by carbonate formation with choline chloride, or CDI was used to activate betaine hydrochloride, followed by ester formation with the polymers' hydroxyls. The first approach led to a more significant cross-linking of PVA, but not of HEC, and the second approach successfully formed ester bonds. Cationic, nitrogen-bearing materials with varying degrees of substitution were obtained in moderate to high yields. These materials were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, polyelectrolyte titration, and kaolin flocculation. Their dose-dependent effect on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and L929 mouse fibroblasts, was investigated. Significant differences were found between the choline- and betaine-containing polymers, and especially, the choline carbonate esters of HEC strongly inhibited the growth of S. aureus in vitro but were also cytotoxic to fibroblasts. Fibroblast cytotoxicity was also observed for betaine esters of PVA but not for those of HEC. The materials could potentially be used as antimicrobial agents for instance by coating surfaces, but more investigations into the interaction between cells and polysaccharides are necessary to clarify why and how bacterial and human cells are inhibited or killed by these derivatives, especially those containing choline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucija Jurko
- Laboratory
for Characterization and Processing of Polymers (LCPP), Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova Ulica 17, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia
| | - Damjan Makuc
- Slovenian
NMR Centre, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Alja Štern
- Department
of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna Pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Janez Plavec
- Slovenian
NMR Centre, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- EN-FIST
Centre of Excellence, Trg Osvobodilne Fronte 13, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Faculty
of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University
of Ljubljana, Večna
Pot 113, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Bojana Žegura
- Department
of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna Pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Perica Bošković
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University
of Split, Rud̵era Boškovića 33, 21000 Split, Croatia
| | - Rupert Kargl
- Institute
for Chemistry and Technology of Biobased System, Graz University of Technology, Stremayrgasse 9, 8010 Graz, Austria
- Laboratory
for Characterization and Processing of Polymers (LCPP), Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova Ulica 17, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia
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Ajdnik U, Luxbacher T, Vesel A, Štern A, Žegura B, Trček J, Fras Zemljič L. Polysaccharide-Based Bilayer Coatings for Biofilm-Inhibiting Surfaces of Medical Devices. Materials (Basel) 2021; 14:4720. [PMID: 34443242 PMCID: PMC8398363 DOI: 10.3390/ma14164720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Chitosan (Chi) and 77KS, a lysine-derived surfactant, form polyelectrolyte complexes that reverse their charge from positive to negative at higher 77KS concentrations, forming aggregates that have been embedded with amoxicillin (AMOX). Dispersion of this complex was used to coat polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films, with an additional layer of anionic and hydrophilic hyaluronic acid (HA) as an outer adsorbate layer to enhance protein repulsion in addition to antimicrobial activity by forming a highly hydrated layer in combination with steric hindrance. The formed polysaccharide-based bilayer on PDMS was analyzed by water contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and surface zeta (ζ)-potential. All measurements show the existence and adhesion of the two layers on the PDMS surface. Part of this study was devoted to understanding the underlying protein adsorption phenomena and identifying the mechanisms associated with biofouling. Thus, the adsorption of a mixed-protein solution (bovine serum albumin, fibrinogen, γ-globulin) on PDMS surfaces was studied to test the antifouling properties. The adsorption experiments were performed using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) and showed improved antifouling properties by these polysaccharide-based bilayer coatings compared to a reference or for only one layer, i.e., the complex. This proves the benefit of a second hyaluronic acid layer. Microbiological and biocompatibility tests were also performed on real samples, i.e., silicone discs, showing the perspective of the prepared bilayer coating for medical devices such as prostheses, catheters (balloon angioplasty, intravascular), delivery systems (sheaths, implants), and stents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urban Ajdnik
- Institute of Engineering Materials and Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
| | | | - Alenka Vesel
- Department of Surface Engineering and Optoelectronics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Teslova 30, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
| | - Alja Štern
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna Pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (A.Š.); (B.Ž.)
| | - Bojana Žegura
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna Pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (A.Š.); (B.Ž.)
| | - Janja Trček
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Koroška cesta 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia;
| | - Lidija Fras Zemljič
- Institute of Engineering Materials and Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
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Filipić A, Dobnik D, Tušek Žnidarič M, Žegura B, Štern A, Primc G, Mozetič M, Ravnikar M, Žel J, Gutierrez Aguirre I. Inactivation of Pepper Mild Mottle Virus in Water by Cold Atmospheric Plasma. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:618209. [PMID: 33584622 PMCID: PMC7877120 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.618209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Water scarcity is one of the greatest threats for human survival and quality of life, and this is increasingly contributing to the risk of human, animal and plant infections due to waterborne viruses. Viruses are transmitted through polluted water, where they can survive and cause infections even at low concentrations. Plant viruses from the genus Tobamovirus are highly mechanically transmissible, and cause considerable damage to important crops, such as tomato. The release of infective tobamoviruses into environmental waters has been reported, with the consequent risk for arid regions, where these waters are used for irrigation. Virus inactivation in water is thus very important and cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is emerging in this field as an efficient, safe, and sustainable alternative to classic waterborne virus inactivation methods. In the present study we evaluated CAP-mediated inactivation of pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) in water samples. PMMoV is a very resilient water-transmissible tobamovirus that can survive transit through the human digestive tract. The efficiency of PMMoV inactivation was characterized for infectivity and virion integrity, and at the genome level, using test plant infectivity assays, transmission electron microscopy, and molecular methods, respectively. Additionally, the safety of CAP treatment was determined by testing the cytotoxic and genotoxic properties of CAP-treated water on the HepG2 cell line. 5-min treatment with CAP was sufficient to inactivate PMMoV without introducing any cytotoxic or genotoxic effects in the in-vitro cell model system. These data on inactivation of such stable waterborne virus, PMMoV, will encourage further examination of CAP as an alternative for treatment of potable and irrigation waters, and even for other water sources, with emphasis on inactivation of various viruses including enteric viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arijana Filipić
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - David Dobnik
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Magda Tušek Žnidarič
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Bojana Žegura
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Alja Štern
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Primc
- Department of Surface Engineering, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Miran Mozetič
- Department of Surface Engineering, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Maja Ravnikar
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,University of Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
| | - Jana Žel
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ion Gutierrez Aguirre
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Hercog K, Štampar M, Štern A, Filipič M, Žegura B. Application of advanced HepG2 3D cell model for studying genotoxic activity of cyanobacterial toxin cylindrospermopsin. Environ Pollut 2020; 265:114965. [PMID: 32559695 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) is an emerging cyanotoxin increasingly being found in freshwater cyanobacterial blooms worldwide. Humans and animals are exposed to CYN through the consumption of contaminated water and food as well as occupational and recreational water activities; therefore, it represents a potential health threat. It exhibits genotoxic effects in metabolically active test systems, thus it is considered as pro-genotoxic. In the present study, the advanced 3D cell model developed from human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells was used for the evaluation of CYN cyto-/genotoxic activity. Spheroids were formed by forced floating method and were cultured for three days under static conditions prior to exposure to CYN (0.125, 0.25 and 0.5 μg/mL) for 72 h. CYN influence on spheroid growth was measured daily and cell survival was determined by MTS assay and live/dead staining. The influence on cell proliferation, cell cycle alterations and induction of DNA damage (γH2AX) was determined using flow cytometry. Further, the expression of selected genes (qPCR) involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics, proliferation, DNA damage response, apoptosis and oxidative stress was studied. Results revealed that CYN dose-dependently reduced the size of spheroids and affected cell division by arresting HepG2 cells in G1 phase of the cell cycle. No induction of DNA double strand breaks compared to control was determined at applied conditions. The analysis of gene expression revealed that CYN significantly deregulated genes encoding phase I (CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP3A4, ALDH3A) and II (NAT1, NAT2, SULT1B1, SULT1C2, UGT1A1, UGT2B7) enzymes as well as genes involved in cell proliferation (PCNA, TOP2α), apoptosis (BBC3) and DNA damage response (GADD45a, CDKN1A, ERCC4). The advanced 3D HepG2 cell model due to its more complex structure and improved cellular interactions provides more physiologically relevant information and more predictive data for human exposure, and can thus contribute to more reliable genotoxicity assessment of chemicals including cyanotoxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Hercog
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jozef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Martina Štampar
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jozef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Alja Štern
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Metka Filipič
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jozef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Bojana Žegura
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jozef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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Štern A, Rotter A, Novak M, Filipič M, Žegura B. Genotoxic effects of the cyanobacterial pentapeptide nodularin in HepG2 cells. Food Chem Toxicol 2019; 124:349-358. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2018.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2018] [Revised: 12/09/2018] [Accepted: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Novak M, Žegura B, Baebler Š, Štern A, Rotter A, Stare K, Filipič M. Influence of selected anti-cancer drugs on the induction of DNA double-strand breaks and changes in gene expression in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2016; 23:14751-14761. [PMID: 26392091 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-5420-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2015] [Accepted: 09/14/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In chemotherapy, various anti-cancer drugs with different mechanisms of action are used and may represent different risk of undesirable delayed side effects in treated patients as well as in occupationally exposed populations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate genotoxic potential of four widely used anti-cancer drugs with different mechanisms of action: 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cisplatin (CDDP) and etoposide (ET) that cause cell death by targeting DNA function and imatinib mesylate (IM) that inhibits targeted protein kinases in cancer cells in an experimental model with human hepatoma HepG2 cells. After 24 h of exposure all four anti-cancer drugs at non-cytotoxic concentrations induced significant increase in formation of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), with IM being the least effective. The analysis of the changes in the expression of genes involved in the response to DNA damage (CDKN1A, GADD45A, MDM2), apoptosis (BAX, BCL2) and oncogenesis (MYC, JUN) showed that 5-FU, CDDP and ET upregulated the genes involved in DNA damage response, while the anti-apoptotic gene BCL2 and oncogene MYC were downregulated. On the contrary, IM did not change the mRNA level of the studied genes, showing different mechanism of action that probably does not involve direct interaction with DNA processing. Genotoxic effects of the tested anti-cancer drugs were observed at their therapeutic concentrations that may consequently lead to increased risk for development of delayed adverse effects in patients. In addition, considering the genotoxic mechanism of action of 5-FU, CDDP and ET an increased risk can also not be excluded in occupationally exposed populations. The results also indicate that exposure to 5-FU, CDDP and ET represent a higher risk for delayed effects such as cancer, reproductive effects and heritable disease than exposure to IM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matjaž Novak
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Ecological Engineering Institute, Maribor, Slovenia
- Jozef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Bojana Žegura
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Špela Baebler
- Department of Biotechnology and System Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Alja Štern
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ana Rotter
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Katja Stare
- Department of Biotechnology and System Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Metka Filipič
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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Gajski G, Domijan AM, Žegura B, Štern A, Gerić M, Novak Jovanović I, Vrhovac I, Madunić J, Breljak D, Filipič M, Garaj-Vrhovac V. Melittin induced cytogenetic damage, oxidative stress and changes in gene expression in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Toxicon 2016; 110:56-67. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2015.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2015] [Revised: 12/07/2015] [Accepted: 12/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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