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Martinez-Boubeta C, Simeonidis K. Airborne magnetic nanoparticles may contribute to COVID-19 outbreak: Relationships in Greece and Iran. Environ Res 2022; 204:112054. [PMID: 34547249 PMCID: PMC8450134 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 06/21/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
This work attempts to shed light on whether the COVID-19 pandemic rides on airborne pollution. In particular, a two-city study provides evidence that PM2.5 contributes to the timing and severity of the epidemic, without adjustment for confounders. The publicly available data of deaths between March and October 2020, updated it on May 30, 2021, and the average seasonal concentrations of PM2.5 pollution over the previous years in Thessaloniki, the second-largest city of Greece, were investigated. It was found that changes in coronavirus-related deaths follow changes in air pollution and that the correlation between the two data sets is maximized at the lag time of one month. Similar data from Tehran were gathered for comparison. The results of this study underscore that it is possible, if not likely, that pollution nanoparticles are related to COVID-19 fatalities (Granger causality, p < 0.05), contributing to the understanding of the environmental impact on pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Martinez-Boubeta
- Ecoresources P.C, Giannitson-Santaroza Str. 15-17, 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | - K Simeonidis
- Ecoresources P.C, Giannitson-Santaroza Str. 15-17, 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece; Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece.
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Kermenidou M, Balcells L, Martinez-Boubeta C, Chatziavramidis A, Konstantinidis I, Samaras T, Sarigiannis D, Simeonidis K. Magnetic nanoparticles: An indicator of health risks related to anthropogenic airborne particulate matter. Environ Pollut 2021; 271:116309. [PMID: 33387781 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [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: 09/26/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Due to their small dimensions, airborne particles are able to penetrate through inhalation into many human organs, from the lungs to the cardiovascular system and the brain, which can threaten our health. This work establishes a novel approach of collecting quantitative data regarding the fraction, the composition and the size distribution of combustion-emitted particulate matter through the magnetic characterization and analysis of samples received by common air pollution monitoring. To this end, SQUID magnetometry measurements were carried out for samples from urban and suburban areas in Thessaloniki, the second largest city of Greece, taking into consideration the seasonal and weekly variation of airborne particles levels as determined by occurring traffic and meteorological conditions. The level of estimated magnetically-responding atmospheric particulate matter was at least 0.5 % wt. of the collected samples, mostly being present in the form of ultrafine particles with nuclei sizes of approximately 14 nm and their aggregates. The estimated quantities of magnetic particulate matter show maximum values during autumn months (0.8 % wt.) when increased commuting takes place, appearing higher in the city center by up to 50% than those in suburban areas. In combination with high-resolution transmission electron imaging and elemental analysis, it was found that Fe3O4 and similar ferrites, some of them attached to heavy metals (Co, Cr), are the dominant magnetic contributors arising from anthropogenic high-temperature processes, e.g. due to traffic emissions. Importantly, nasal cytologic samples collected from residents of both central and suburban areas showed same pattern in what concerns magnetic behavior, thus verifying the critical role of nanosized magnetic particles in the assessment of air pollution threats. Despite the inherent statistical limitations of our study, such findings also indicate the potential transmission of infectious pathogens by means of pollution-derived nanoparticles into the respiratory system of the human body.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Kermenidou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ll Balcells
- Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, CSIC, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - C Martinez-Boubeta
- Ecoresources P.C., Giannitson-Santaroza Str. 15-17, 54627 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - A Chatziavramidis
- 2nd Academic Otorhinolaryngology Department, General Hospital Papageorgiou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - I Konstantinidis
- 2nd Academic Otorhinolaryngology Department, General Hospital Papageorgiou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - T Samaras
- Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - D Sarigiannis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - K Simeonidis
- Ecoresources P.C., Giannitson-Santaroza Str. 15-17, 54627 Thessaloniki, Greece; Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
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Simeonidis K, Martinez-Boubeta C, Serantes D, Ruta S, Chubykalo-Fesenko O, Chantrell R, Oró-Solé J, Balcells L, Kamzin AS, Nazipov RA, Makridis A, Angelakeris M. Controlling Magnetization Reversal and Hyperthermia Efficiency in Core-Shell Iron-Iron Oxide Magnetic Nanoparticles by Tuning the Interphase Coupling. ACS Appl Nano Mater 2020; 3:4465-4476. [PMID: 32582880 PMCID: PMC7304833 DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.0c00568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Magnetic particle hyperthermia, in which colloidal nanostructures are exposed to an alternating magnetic field, is a promising approach to cancer therapy. Unfortunately, the clinical efficacy of hyperthermia has not yet been optimized. Consequently, routes to improve magnetic particle hyperthermia, such as designing hybrid structures comprised of different phase materials, are actively pursued. Here, we demonstrate enhanced hyperthermia efficiency in relatively large spherical Fe/Fe-oxide core-shell nanoparticles through the manipulation of interactions between the core and shell phases. Experimental results on representative samples with diameters in the range 30-80 nm indicate a direct correlation of hysteresis losses to the observed heating with a maximum efficiency of around 0.9 kW/g. The absolute particle size, the core-shell ratio, and the interposition of a thin wüstite interlayer are shown to have powerful effects on the specific absorption rate. By comparing our measurements to micromagnetic calculations, we have unveiled the occurrence of topologically nontrivial magnetization reversal modes under which interparticle interactions become negligible, aggregates formation is minimized and the energy that is converted into heat is increased. This information has been overlooked until date and is in stark contrast to the existing knowledge on homogeneous particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. Simeonidis
- Department
of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
- Ecorecources
P.C., Giannitson-Santaroza
Str. 15-17, 54627 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - D. Serantes
- Department
of Physics, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
- Applied
Physics Department and IIT, Universidade
de Santiago de Compostela, Compostela 15782, Spain
| | - S. Ruta
- Department
of Physics, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | | | - R. Chantrell
- Department
of Physics, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - J. Oró-Solé
- Institut
de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, CSIC, Bellaterra 08193, Spain
| | - Ll. Balcells
- Institut
de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, CSIC, Bellaterra 08193, Spain
| | - A. S. Kamzin
- Ioffe
Physical-Technical Institute, Russian Academy
of Sciences, St. Petersburg 194021, Russia
| | - R. A. Nazipov
- Kazan
National Research Technological University, Kazan 420015, Russia
| | - A. Makridis
- Department
of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - M. Angelakeris
- Department
of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
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Simeonidis K, Tziomaki M, Angelakeris M, Martinez-Boubeta C, Balcells L, Monty C, Mitrakas M, Vourlias G, Andritsos N. Development of iron-based nanoparticles for Cr(VI) removal from drinking water. EPJ Web of Conferences 2013. [DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/20134008007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Martinez-Boubeta C, Balcells L, Monty C, Martínez B. The effects of exchange bias on Fe-Co/MgO magnetic nanoparticles with core/shell morphology. J Phys Condens Matter 2010; 22:026004. [PMID: 21386268 DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/22/2/026004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The effects of exchange bias on core/shell structured nanoparticles are analyzed. Nanoparticles are integrated with high moment Fe-Co crystallites covered epitaxially with MgO shells. It is observed that the coercive field H(C)(FeCo)>H(C)(Co)>H(C)(Fe); however, the exchange bias field H(E) of the Co sample is higher than that of the FeCo one, while H(E)=0 for the Fe sample. It is suggested that the exchange bias is induced by the formation of a (Co, Mg)O solid solution. In fact, we show that it is possible to modify the exchange bias properties by manipulating the level of Mg dusting at the interface, as recently reported for thin films.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Martinez-Boubeta
- Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
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