Cell-Based Metabolomics Approach for Anticipating and Investigating Cytotoxicity of Gold Nanorods

Despite the increasing application of gold nanoparticles, there has been little assessment of biological system toxicity to evaluate their potential impact on human health. In this study, the human hepatoma cell line (Hep G2) was used in a metabolomics approach to study the effects of shape, time, and dose of gold nanorods (GNRs). Using optimized parameters for chromatography and mass spectrometry, the metabolites detected by GC-MS were processed with MS DIAL and identified with Fiehnlib. Key metabolic pathways affected by GNRs were identified by endo-metabolic profiling of cells mixed with GNRs of varying shape while varying the dose and time of exposure. The shape of GNRs affected cytotoxicity, and short GNR (GNR-S) triggered disorder of cell metabolism. High concentrations of GNRs caused more significant toxicity. The cytotoxicity and bioTEM results illustrated that the mitochondria toxicity, as the main cytotoxicity of GNRs, caused declining cytoprotective ability. The mitochondrial dysfunction disrupted alanine, aspartate, glutamate, arginine, and proline metabolism, with amino acid synthesis generally downregulated. However, the efflux function of cells can exclude GNRs extracellularly within 24 h, resulting in reduced cell mitochondrial metabolic toxicity and allowing metabolic disorders to recover to normal function.

Development of Wax-Incorporated Emulsion Gel Beads for the Encapsulation and Intragastric Floating Delivery of the Active Antioxidant from Tamarindus indica L

In this study, tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) seed extracts with potential antioxidant activity and toxicity to cancer cells were developed as functional foods and nutraceutical ingredients in the form of emulsion gel beads. Three extracts were obtained from ethanol and water: TSCH50, TSCH95 and TSCH. All extracts exhibited high potential for superoxide anion scavenging activity over the IC₅₀ range < 5–11 µg/mL and had no toxic effects on normal cells, however, the water extract (TSCH) was the most effective due to its free radical scavenging activity and toxicity in mitochondrial membranes of cancer cells. Next a study was designed to develop a new formulation for encapsulation and intragastric floating delivery of tamarind seed extract (TSCH) using wax-incorporated emulsion gel beads, which were prepared using a modified ionotropic gelation technique. Tamarind seed extract at 1% (w/w) was used as the active ingredient in all formulations. The effect of the types and amounts of wax on the encapsulation efficiency and percentage of the active release of alginate gel beads was also investigated. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of both waxes into the gel beads had an effect on the percentage of encapsulation efficiency (%) and the percentage of the active ingredient release. Furthermore, the addition of water insoluble waxes (carnauba and bee wax) significantly retarded the release of the active ingredient. The addition of both waxes had a slight effect on drug release behavior. Nevertheless, the increase in incorporated waxes in all formulations could sustain the percentage of active ingredient release. In conclusion, wax-incorporated emulsion gel beads using a modified ionotropic gelation technique could be applied for the intragastric floating delivery and controlled release of functional food and nutraceutical products for their antioxidant and anticancer capacity.