Biodegradable Monometallic Aluminum as a Biotuner for Tumor Pyroptosis

Pyroptosis is an effective anti-tumor strategy. However, monometallic pyroptosis biotuners have not been explored until now. Here, we discover for the first time that biodegradable monometallic Al can act as a pyroptosis biotuner for tumor therapy. pH-sensitive Al nanoparticles (Al@P) are obtained by equipping polyethylene glycol-b-(poly(methyl methacrylate)-co-poly(4-vinylpyridine), which can exert their effect at the tumor site without affecting normal cells. The H2 and Al3+ release by Al@P in the acidic environment of tumors disrupts the redox balance and ionic homeostasis in tumor cells, thus generating large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to caspase-1 activation, gasdermin D cleavage, and IL-1β/LDH release, which induces canonical pyroptotic death. Meanwhile, the prodrug Doxorubicin (Pro-DOX) is successfully loaded onto Al@P (Al@P-P) and can be activated by ROS to release DOX in the tumor cells, thus further improving the tumor-killing efficiency. Ultimately, Al@P-P is degradable and exhibits efficient tumor inhibition.

The update and transport of aluminum nanoparticles in plants and their biochemical and molecular phototoxicity on plant growth and development: A systematic review

As aluminum nanoparticles (Al-NPs) are widely used in our daily life and various industries, Al-NPs has been becoming an emerging pollution in the environment. The impact of this NP has been attracting more and more attention from the scientific communities. In this review, we systematically summarized the interactions, uptake, and transport of Al-NPs in the plant system. Al-NPs can enter plants through different pathways and accumulate in various tissues, leading to alter plant growth and development. Al-NPs also affected root, shoot, and leaf characteristics as well as changing nutrient uptake and distribution and inducing oxidative stress via excess reactive radical generation, thereby impairing plant defense systems. Additionally, Al-NPs altered gene expression, which involved in various signaling pathways and metabolic processes in plants, that further altered plants susceptible or tolerant to stressors. The review also emphasized the effects of Al-NP size, surface charge, concentration, and exposure duration on plant growth and development. In the future, more research should be focused on mechanisms underlying Al-NPs phytotoxicity and potential risk to humans and off-target species.

A novel technique to generate aluminum nanoparticles utilizing ultrasound ablation

In the present article, a novel method of ultrasound ablation technique is presented with the experimental results for the generation of the aluminum nanoparticles. The formation of the aluminum nanoparticle is confirmed by; the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), the field emission electron microscopy (FESEM), the atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The most probable particle size of nanoparticles produced by this method is 44.7 and 105.7 nm for two different ultrasonic power of 20 W and 50 W respectively. The ultrasonic ablation method is an innovative method for the production of aluminum nanoparticles. In this method, the fast movement sanding by an ultrasonic apparatus converts aluminum foil to nanoparticles. The most important advantages of this method are green, fast, controllable, and high purity of the produced nanoparticle.

Aluminum Nanoparticles Induce ERK and p38MAPK Activation in Rat Brain

Aluminum nanoparticles (Al-NPs) are one of the most widely used nanomaterial in cosmetics and medical materials. For this reason, Al-NP exposure is very likely to occur via inhalation in the environment and the workplace. Nevertheless, little is known about the mechanism of Al-NP neurotoxicity via inhalation exposure. In this study, we investigated the effect AL-NPs on the brain. Rats were exposed to Al-NPs by nasal instillation at 1 mg/kg body weight (low exposure group), 20 mg/kg body weight (moderate exposure group), and 40 mg/kg body weight (high exposure group), for a total of 3 times, with a 24-hr interval after each exposure. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis indicated that the presence of aluminum was increased in a dose-dependent manner in the olfactory bulb (OFB) and the brain. In microarray analysis, the regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) activity (GO: 0043405), including Ptprc, P2rx7, Map2k4, Trib3, Trib1, and Fgd4 was significantly over-expressed in the treated mice than in the controls (p = 0.0027). Moreover, Al-NPs induced the activation of ERK1 and p38 MAPK protein expression in the brain, but did not alter the protein expression of JNK, when compared to the control. These data demonstrate that the nasal exposure of Al-NPs can permeate the brain via the olfactory bulb and modulate the gene and protein expression of MAPK and its activity.