Synthesis and evaluation of alendronate-modified gelatin biopolymer as a novel osteotropic nanocarrier for gene therapy

Facile synthesis and optimization of Acacia senegal gum hydrogel for kinetically treated adsorptive removal of targeted industrial effluents

This context summarizes a detail on the fabrication of Acacia senegal Gum Hydrogel (ASGh) within well-engineered microemulsion, and thereafter chemical modification for environmental remediation. In brief, Divinylsulfone was used to crosslink polymeric chains and produce ASGh in ˂50 μm size within the reverse-microemulsion of Natrium-bis-(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate in gasoline. ASGh were subjected to chemical modification via versatile diethylenetriamine to produce m-[ASGh] for adsorptive removal of methyl orange (MO), eosin Y (EY) and congo red (CR) from waste-water. ASGh and m-[ASGh] were characterized through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and zeta potential measurements. For instance, FT-IR spectra depicted new bands upon Diethylenetriamine modification. The zeta potential measurements confirm a positively charged surface of m-[ASGh] upon Diethylenetriamine addition. Interestingly, 0.05 g m-[ASGh] demonstrated 91.0, 84.1, and 73.0 % removal efficiency towards MO, EY and CR, respectively in 2 h equilibrium time. Langmuir, Freundlich and modified-Freundlich isotherms were applied to further delineate adsorption data. Modified-Freundlich model depicted comparatively more agreeable fit, and delivered R2 value nearer to unity. Further, 143 mg·g-1, 130 mg·g-1 and, 116 mg·g-1 maximum adsorption capacity (QM) was represented by m-[ASGh] towards MO, EY and CR, respectively in 2 h. Interestingly, real water sample were tested whereby, the QM against MO, EY and CR was 146 mg·g-1, 132 mg·g-1 and, 111 mg·g-1, respectively in 2 h equilibrium time. To conclude, m-[ASGh] could be treated as decolorizing agent in real waste-water polluted through negatively charged organic pollutants, particularly MO.

Design of Nanodrug Delivery Systems for Tumor Bone Metastasis

Tumor metastasis is a complex process that is controlled at the molecular level by numerous cytokines. Primary breast and prostate tumors most commonly metastasize to bone, and the development of increasingly accurate targeted nanocarrier systems has become a research focus for more effective anti-bone metastasis therapy. This review summarizes the molecular mechanisms of bone metastasis and the principles and methods for designing bone-targeted nanocarriers and then provides an in-depth review of bone-targeted nanocarriers for the treatment of bone metastasis in the context of chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, gene therapy, and combination therapy. Furthermore, this review also discusses the treatment of metastatic and primary bone tumors, providing directions for the design of nanodelivery systems and future research.

Extracellular matrix component-derived nanoparticles for drug delivery and tissue engineering

The extracellular matrix (ECM) consists of a complex combination of proteins, proteoglycans, and other biomolecules. ECM-based materials have been demonstrated to have high biocompatibility and bioactivity, which may be harnessed for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. Herein, nanoparticles incorporating ECM-based materials and their applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering are reviewed. Proteins such as gelatin, collagen, and fibrin as well as glycosaminoglycans including hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, and heparin have been employed for cancer therapeutic delivery, gene delivery, and wound healing and regenerative medicine. Strategies for modifying and functionalizing these materials with synthetic and natural polymers or to enable stimuli-responsive degradation and drug release have increased the efficacy of these materials and nano-systems. The incorporation and modification of ECM-based materials may be used to drive drug targeting and increase tissue-specific cell differentiation more effectively.

Fluorescent nanodiamond labels: Size and concentration matters for sperm cell viability

Nanodiamonds are increasingly popular in biomedical applications, including optical labelling, drug delivery and nanoscale sensing. Potential new applications are in studying infertility or labelling sperm cells. However, for these applications, it is necessary that nanodiamonds are inert and do not alter sperm properties. In this article, we assessed the biocompatibility of nanodiamonds in detail. We investigated different sizes and concentrations of nanodiamonds and sperm preparation methods. We evaluated if the metabolic activity, membrane integrity, morphology and formation of reactive oxygen species were altered. These parameters were tested for sperm cells in their uncapacitated and capacitated states. Unfortunately, FNDs are not universally biocompatible. Generally, cells in the capacitated state are more prone to stress. Additionally, larger particles and lower concentrations are tolerated better than smaller and higher concentrated particles.

Attributes of oxidative stress in the reproductive toxicity of nickel oxide nanoparticles in male rats

The nanoparticles of nickel are now being widely used in industrial, commercial, and biomedical applications. In recent years, health safety issues posed by them have aroused concerns among health scientists. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of oxidative stress in male reproductive toxicity induced by nickel oxide nanoparticles in rats. Male Wistar rats (140-170 g) were administered with nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiONPs) (particles size <30 nm) (5 mg/kg body weight) by gavage for 30 days. Its effects on different parameters, viz., sperm count, motility, and morphology, were investigated. DNA damage in sperms was monitored through comet assay. All these observations indicated a spermicidal effect of NiONPs. Results on lipid peroxidation (MDA, H₂O₂, and NO) and oxidative stress (GSH, GPx, and catalase) thus studied in testes exhibited adverse effects of NiONPs. Histopathological results on male reproductive organs, viz., testis, epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, and prostate also demonstrated moderate to severe toxicity. A comparison of these results with those obtained on nickel oxide microparticle (NiOMP)-treated rats showed that NiONPs are more toxic than NiOMPs. Furthermore, NiONPs could create an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in the testes. It is concluded that redox imbalance in testes constitutes a major mechanism of NiONP-induced reproductive toxicity.

New Progress in Improving the Delivery Methods of Bisphosphonates in the Treatment of Bone Tumors

Bone tumors are tumors that occur in the bone or its accessory tissues, including primary tumors and metastatic tumors. The main mechanism of bisphosphonate is to inhibit the resorption of destructive bone, inhibit the activity of osteoclasts and reduce the concentration of blood calcium. Therefore, bisphosphonates can be used for malignant hypercalcaemia, pain caused by osteolytic bone metastasis, prevention of osteolytic bone metastasis, multiple myeloma osteopathy, improving radiosensitivity and so on. However, the traditional administration of bisphosphonates can cause a series of adverse reactions. To overcome this disadvantage, it is necessary to develop novel methods to improve the delivery of bisphosphonates. In this paper, the latest research progress of new and improved bisphosphonate drug delivery methods in the treatment of bone tumors is reviewed. At present, the main design idea is to connect bisphosphonate nanoparticles, liposomes, microspheres, microcapsules, couplings, prodrugs and bone tissue engineering to targeted anti-tumors systems, and positive progress has been made in in vitro and animal experiments. However, its safety and effectiveness in human body still need to be verified by more studies.

Biopolymer-based Carriers for DNA Vaccine Design

Over the last 30 years, genetically engineered DNA has been tested as novel vaccination strategy against various diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B, several parasites, and cancers. However, the clinical breakthrough of the technique is confined by the low transfection efficacy and immunogenicity of the employed vaccines. Therefore, carrier materials were designed to prevent the rapid degradation and systemic clearance of DNA in the body. In this context, biopolymers are a particularly promising DNA vaccine carrier platform due to their beneficial biochemical and physical characteristics, including biocompatibility, stability, and low toxicity. This article reviews the applications, fabrication, and modification of biopolymers as carrier medium for genetic vaccines.

Targeting nonapoptotic pathways with functionalized nanoparticles for cancer therapy: current and future perspectives

Apoptotic death evasion is a hallmark of cancer progression. In this context, past decades have witnessed cytotoxic agents targeting apoptosis. However, owing to cellular defects in the apoptotic machinery, tumors develop resistance to apoptosis-based cancer therapies. Hence, targeting nonapoptotic cell-death pathways displays enhanced therapeutic success in apoptosis-defective tumor cells. Exploitation of multifunctional properties of engineered nanoparticles may allow cancer therapeutics to target yet unexplored pathways such as ferroptosis, autophagy and necroptosis. Necroptosis presents a programmed necrotic death initiated by same apoptotic death signals that are caspase independent, whereas autophagy is self-degradative causing vacuolation, and ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form driven by lipid peroxidation. Targeting these tightly regulated nonapoptotic pathways may emerge as a new direction in cancer drug development, diagnostics and novel cancer nanotherapeutics. This review highlights the current challenges along with the advancement in this field of research and finally summarizes the future perspective in terms of their clinical merits.

Alendronate/cRGD-Decorated Ultrafine Hyaluronate Dot Targeting Bone Metastasis

In this study, we report the hyaluronate dot (dHA) with multiligand targeting ability and a photosensitizing antitumor model drug for treating metastatic bone tumors. Here, the dHA was chemically conjugated with alendronate (ALN, as a specific ligand to bone), cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (cRGD, as a specific ligand to tumor integrin αvβ3), and photosensitizing chlorin e6 (Ce6, for photodynamic tumor therapy), denoted as (ALN/cRGD)@dHA-Ce6. These dots thus prepared (≈10 nm in diameter) enabled extensive cellular interactions such as hyaluronate (HA)-mediated CD44 receptor binding, ALN-mediated bone targeting, and cRGD-mediated tumor integrin αvβ3 binding, thus improving their tumor targeting efficiency, especially for metastasized MDA-MB-231 tumors. As a result, these dots improved the tumor targeting efficiency and tumor cell permeability in a metastatic in vivo tumor model. Indeed, we demonstrated that (ALN/cRGD)@dHA-Ce6 considerably increased photodynamic tumor ablation, the extent of which is superior to that of the tumor ablation of dot systems with single or double ligands. These results indicate that dHA with multiligand can provide an effective treatment strategy for metastatic bone tumors.

Preparation, characterization and in vitro antitumor activity evaluation of hyaluronic acid-alendronate-methotrexate nanoparticles

As an anti-metabolic drug, methotrexate (MTX) plays an important role in the treatment of various malignant tumors. However, several side effects such as low selectivity and high toxic of MTX limited its further applications. With aims to increase its accumulation in the tumor sites and reduce the toxicity of normal tissue nonspecific uptake, a self-assembled hyaluronic acid-alendronate-methotrexate nanoparticle (HA-ALN-MTX NPs) with a dual-tumor-targeted drug loaded system was designed and synthesized with an average particle size of 265.6 ± 13.3 nm. The advantage of this nanosystem is that the anticancer drug MTX can be used as a tumor-targeted ligand for folate acid receptors (FA), and hyaluronic acid (HA) can be used as another tumor targeted ligand for CD44 receptors. In vitro experiments confirmed that HA-ALN-MTX NPs has lower toxic effect on normal tissue cells HUVECs and has relatively high proliferation inhibition effect on tumor cells A549. Moreover, the inhibition effect could be adjusted by altering the dose of given drugs. All these results revealed that the prepared HA-ALN-MTX NPs could be selectively taken up by tumor cells by FA and CD44 receptor-mediated endocytosis. Therefore, self-assembled HA-ALN-MTX NPs targeted by these FA/CD44 receptors for anticancer drugs could act as effective antitumor drugs.

Mechanisms and pathogenesis underlying environmental chemical-induced necroptosis

Necroptosis is a regulated cell death that is governed by mixed lineage kinase domain-like, receptor-interacting serine-threonine kinase 3 and commonly displays with necrosis morphological characteristics. This study examined the molecular mechanisms involved in the chemical-induced necroptosis where a systematic evaluation of experimental studies addressing this issue is missing. We strictly reviewed all scientific reports related to our search terms including "necroptosis" or "programmed necrosis", "environmental chemicals" or "air pollutants" or "pesticides" or "nanoparticles" and "Medicines" from 2009 to 2019. Manuscripts that met the objective of this study were included for further evaluations. Studies showed that several pathological contexts like cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and inflammatory diseases were related to necroptosis. Furthermore, multiple chemical-induced cytotoxic effects, such as DNA damage, mitochondrial dysregulation, oxidative damage, lipid peroxidation, endoplasmic reticulum disruption, and inflammation are also associated with necroptosis. The main environmental exposures that are related to necroptosis are air pollutants (airborne particulate matter, cadmium, and hydrogen sulfide), nanoparticles (gold, silver, and silica), pesticides (endosulfan, cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos, and paraquat), and tobacco smoke. To sum up, air pollutants, pesticides, and nanoparticles could potentially affect human health via disruption of cell growth and induction of necroptosis. Understanding the exact molecular pathogenesis of these environmental chemicals needs further comprehensive research to provide innovative concepts for the prevention approaches and introduce novel targets for the amelioration of a range of human health problems.

Bisphosphonates in common pediatric and adult bone sarcomas

The therapeutic strategies proposed currently for bone sarcomas are based on neo-adjuvant chemotherapy, delayed en-bloc wide resection, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Unfortunately, bone sarcomas are characterized by high rates of poor drug response, with a high risk of drug resistance, local recurrence and/or a high propensity for induced metastases. The pathogenesis of bone sarcomas is strongly associated with dysregulation of local bone remodeling and increased osteolysis that plays a part in tumor development. In this context, bisphosphonates (BPs) have been proposed as a single agent or in combination with conventional drugs to block bone resorption and the vicious cycle established between bone and sarcoma cells. Pre-clinical in vitro studies revealed the potential "anti-tumor" activities of nitrogen-bisphosphonates (N-BPs). In pre-clinical models, N-BPs reduced significantly primary tumor growth in osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma, and the installation of lung metastases. In chondrosarcoma, N-BPs reduced the recurrence of local tumors after intralesional curettage, and increased overall survival. In pediatric and adult osteosarcoma patients, N-BPs have been assessed in combination with conventional chemotherapy and surgery in randomized phase 3 studies with no improvement in clinical outcome. The lack of benefit may potentially be explained by the biological impact of N-BPs on macrophage differentiation/recruitment which may alter CD8⁺-T lymphocyte infiltration. Thanks to their considerable affinity for the mineralized extracellular matrix, BPs are an excellent platform for drug delivery in malignant bone sites with reduced systemic toxicity, which opens up new opportunities for their future use.

Targeting nanoparticles for diagnosis and therapy of bone tumors: Opportunities and challenges

A variety of targeted nanoparticles were developed for the diagnosis and therapy of orthotopic and metastatic bone tumors during the past decade. This critical review will focus on principles and methods in the design of these bone-targeted nanoparticles. Ligands including bisphosphonates, aspartic acid-rich peptides and synthetic polymers were grafted on nanoparticles such as PLGA nanoparticles, liposomes, dendrimers and inorganic nanoparticles for bone targeting. Besides, other ligands such as monoclonal antibodies, peptides and aptamers targeting biomarkers on tumor/bone cells were identified for targeted diagnosis and therapy. Examples of targeted nanoparticles for the early detection of bone metastatic tumors and the ablation of cancer via chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, gene therapy and combination therapy will be intensively reviewed. The development of multifunctional nanoparticles to break down the "vicious" cycle between tumor cell proliferation and bone resorption, and the challenges and perspectives in this area will be discussed.

Alendronate loaded graphene oxide functionalized collagen sponge for the dual effects of osteogenesis and anti-osteoclastogenesis in osteoporotic rats

Graphene Oxide (GO)-related hydrogels have been extensively studied in hard tissue repair, because GO can not only enhance the mechanical properties of polymers but also promote osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. However, simple GO-related hydrogels are not ideal for the repair of osteoporotic bone defects as the overactive osteoclasts in osteoporosis. Alendronate (Aln) is known to inhibit osteoclasts and may bind to GO through covalent connection. Therefore, delivering Aln in GO-related hydrogels may be effective to repair osteoporotic bone defects. Here, we developed a control-released system which is constructed by collagen (Col)-GO sponges loaded with Aln (Col-GO-Aln) for osteoporotic bone defect repair. In vitro, Col-GO-Aln sponges prolonged the release period of Aln, and the sponge containing 0.05% (w/v) GO released Aln faster than sponge with 0.2% GO. Furthermore, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and F-actin staining demonstrated that Col-GO-Aln sponges effectively inhibited osteoclastogenesis of monocyte-macrophages. In vivo, micro-CT scan showed that the volume of newborn bone in defect site by 0.05% GO sponge was nearly three times larger than that of other groups. Moreover, the CT and histological examinations of rat femur proved that Col-GO-Aln sponges decreased the number of osteoclasts and suppressed the systemic bone loss in osteoporotic rats. These findings reveal that the application of GO as carriers of anti-osteoporosis drugs is a viable treatment for osteoporosis. The results also underscore the potential of GO-related hydrogels with Aln-releasing capacity for bone regeneration in osteoporosis.

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Alendronate-loading graphene oxide modified collagen sponge (Col-GO-Aln) exhibit a sustained drug delivery.

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Col-GO-Aln sponge showed active anti-osteoclastogenesis and osteogenesis ability in vitro and in situ repair.

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Col-GO-Aln sponge achieved a potential systemic resistance to bone loss in osteoporotic rats.

Sustained delivery of alendronate by engineered collagen scaffold for the repair of osteoporotic bone defects and resistance to bone loss

Researches of biomaterials for osteoporotic bone defects focus on the improvement of its anti-osteoporosis ability, due to osteoporosis is a kind of systemic and long-range bone metabolism disorder. Nevertheless, how to steadily deliver anti-osteoporosis drugs in osteoporotic bone defects is rarely studied. Reported evidences have shown that alendronate (Aln) is known to not only restrain osteoclasts from mediating bone resorption but also stimulate osteoblasts to regenerate bone tissue. Here, we developed an engineered implantable scaffold that could sustainably release Aln for osteoporotic bone defects. Briefly, Aln was added into 2% collagen (Col) solution to form a 5 mg/ml mixture. Then the mixture was filled into pre-designed round models (diameter: 5 mm, height: 2 mm) and crosslinked to obtain engineered Col-Aln scaffolds. The release kinetics showed that Aln was released at an average rate of 2.99 μg/d in the initial 8 days and could sustainably release for 1 month. To detect the repair effects of the Col-Aln scaffolds for osteoporotic defects, the Col and Col-Aln scaffolds were implanted into 5 mm cranial defects in ovariectomized rats. After 3 months, the cranial defects implanted with Col-Aln scaffolds achieved more bone regeneration in defect area (11.74 ± 3.82%) than Col scaffold (5.12 ± 1.15%) (p < .05). Moreover, ovariectomized rats in Col-Aln scaffold group possessed more trabecular bone in femur metaphysis than Col scaffold group as analyzed by Micro-CT. This study demonstrated the engineered Col-Aln scaffold has the potential to repair osteoporotic bone defects and resist bone loss in osteoporosis.

Lipid-coated ZnO nanoparticles synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity studies in cancer cell

ZnO nanoparticles are widely used in biological, chemical, and medical fields, but their toxicity impedes their wide application. In this study, pristine ZnO NPs (~ 7 nm; ~ 18 nm; ~ 49 nm) and lipid-coated ZnO NPs (~ 13 nm; ~ 22 nm; ~ 52 nm) with different morphologies were prepared by chemical method and characterized by TEM, XRD, HRTEM, FTIR, and DLS. Our results showed that the lipid-coated ZnO NPs (~ 13 nm; ~ 22 nm; ~ 52 nm) groups improved the colloidal stability, prevented the aggregation and dissolution of nanocrystal particles in the solution, inhibited the dissolution of ZnO NPs into Zn²⁺ cations, and reduced cytotoxicity more efficiently than the pristine ZnO NPs (~ 7 nm; ~ 18 nm; ~ 49 nm). Compared to the lipid-coated ZnO NPs, pristine ZnO NPs (~ 7 nm; ~ 18 nm; ~ 49 nm) could dose-dependently destroy the cells at low concentrations. At the same concentration, ZnO NPs (~ 7 nm) exhibited the highest cytotoxicity. These results could provide a basis for the toxicological study of the nanoparticles and direct future investigations for preventing strong aggregation, reducing the toxic effects of lipid-bilayer and promoting the uptake of nanoparticles by HeLa cells efficiently.

The potential of micelleplexes as a therapeutic strategy for osteosarcoma disease

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a rare aggressive bone, presenting low patient survival rate, high metastasis and relapse occurrence, mostly due to multi-drug resistant cells. To surpass that, the use of nanomedicine for the targeted delivery of genetic material, drugs or both have been extensively researched. In this review, we address the current situation of the disorder and some gene therapy options in the nanomedicine field that have been investigated. Among them, polymeric micelles (PM) are an advantageous therapeutic alternative highly explored for OS, as they allow for the targeted transportation of poorly water-soluble drugs to cancer cells. In addition, micelleplexes are PMs with cationic properties with promising features, such as the possibility for a dual therapy, which have made them an attractive research subject. The aim of this review article is to elucidate the application of a micelleplex formulation encapsulating the underexpressed miRNA145 to achieve an active targeting to OS cells and overcome multi-drug resistance, as a new and viable therapeutic strategy.

Preparation and properties of gelatin hydrolysate modified with polysiloxane quaternary ammonium salts

PSiQAEp-GH polymers were synthesized by the reaction of gelatin hydrolysate (GH) and polysiloxane quaternary ammonium salts containing epoxy group (PSiQAEp) with different molecular weight from 3147 to 12996. The results of FTIR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR showed that the reaction occurred between primary amino group of arginine in GH and epoxy of PSiQAEp. The XRD and DSC studies showed that the degree of short-range order of PSiQAEp-GH reduced and its glass transition temperature (Tg) lowered more than 10 °C compared with GH. The determinations of moisture absorption and contact angle (CA) indicated that the hydrophobility of PSiQAEp-GH was better than GH. The tests of inhibitory zone and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) illustrated that the PSiQAEp-GHs exhibited excellent antibacterial activity, and the antibacterial activity depended on both the chemical structure of PSiQAEp-GHs and the biological structure of the bacteria.

Nanoparticles induce apoptosis via mediating diverse cellular pathways

With a special size and structure, nanoparticles (NPs) have excellent application prospects in various fields and are widely used in the biomedicine, cosmetics and chemical industries nowadays. However, there have been some reports on the biosafety of this new type of material, pointing out its cytotoxicity in inducing apoptosis. With different physicochemical properties in size, shape, surface charge, and ligand, NPs exhibit different biocompatibilities when interacting with different cells. Therefore, a comprehensive and deep study into the proapoptotic mechanism of NPs is necessary. In the present review, we summarize the NP-triggered apoptotic signal pathways in detail and highlight some important functional molecules involved. We hope our findings and perspectives provide a new direction for the sound development of nanotechnology in the future.

Pulmonary exposure to carbonaceous nanomaterials and sperm quality

Background

Semen quality parameters are potentially affected by nanomaterials in several ways: Inhaled nanosized particles are potent inducers of pulmonary inflammation, leading to the release of inflammatory mediators. Small amounts of particles may translocate from the lungs into the lung capillaries, enter the systemic circulation and ultimately reach the testes. Both the inflammatory response and the particles may induce oxidative stress which can directly affect spermatogenesis. Furthermore, spermatogenesis may be indirectly affected by changes in the hormonal milieu as systemic inflammation is a potential modulator of endocrine function. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pulmonary exposure to carbonaceous nanomaterials on sperm quality parameters in an experimental mouse model.

Methods

Effects on sperm quality after pulmonary inflammation induced by carbonaceous nanomaterials were investigated by intratracheally instilling sexually mature male NMRI mice with four different carbonaceous nanomaterials dispersed in nanopure water: graphene oxide (18 μg/mouse/i.t.), Flammruss 101, Printex 90 and SRM1650b (0.1 mg/mouse/i.t. each) weekly for seven consecutive weeks. Pulmonary inflammation was determined by differential cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Epididymal sperm concentration and motility were measured by computer-assisted sperm analysis. Epididymal sperm viability and morphological abnormalities were assessed manually using Hoechst 33,342/PI flourescent and Spermac staining, respectively. Epididymal sperm were assessed with regard to sperm DNA integrity (damage). Daily sperm production was measured in the testis, and testosterone levels were measured in blood plasma by ELISA.

Results

Neutrophil numbers in the bronchoalveolar fluid showed sustained inflammatory response in the nanoparticle-exposed groups one week after the last instillation. No significant changes in epididymal sperm parameters, daily sperm production or plasma testosterone levels were found.

Conclusion

Despite the sustained pulmonary inflammatory response, an eight week exposure to graphene oxide, Flammruss 101, Printex 90 and the diesel particle SRM1650b in the present study did not appear to affect semen parameters, daily sperm production or testosterone concentration in male NMRI mice.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12989-018-0242-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

In one harness: the interplay of cellular responses and subsequent cell fate after quantum dot uptake

Rapid growth and expansion of engineered nanomaterials will occur when the technology can be used safely. Quantum dots have excellent prospects in clinical applications, but the issue of toxicity has not yet been resolved. To enable their medical implementation, the effect on, and mechanisms in, live cells should be clearly known and predicted. A massive amount of experimental data dedicated to nanotoxicity has been accumulated to-date, but it lacks a logical structure. The current challenge is to organize existing knowledge into lucid biological and mathematical models. In our review we aim to describe the interplay of various cell death mechanisms triggered by quantum dots as a consequence of particle parameters and experimental conditions.