Toxicity of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) to THP-1 macrophages: interactions with saturated or unsaturated free fatty acids

In a biological microenvironment, free fatty acids (FFA) as ubiquitous biological molecules might interact with nanoparticles (NPs) and consequently change the toxicological responses. However, whether the chemical structures of FFA could influence their interactions with NPs remain unknown. This study investigated the interactions between ZnO NPs and saturated or unsaturated FFA (complexed to BSA), namely stearic acid (SA, C18:0), oleic acid (OA, C18:1), and α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3). It was shown that BSA, SA, OA, and ALA increased the atomic force microscope (AFM) heights as well the polydispersity index (PDI) of ZnO NPs. BSA modestly protected THP-1 macrophages from ZnO NP exposure, whereas OA and ALA led to relatively less cyto-protective effects of BSA. Moreover, only co-exposure to ZnO NPs and SA significantly promoted the release of interleukin-8. BSA, SA, OA, and ALA equally changed intracellular ROS and Zn ions associated with ZnO exposure, but co-exposure to ZnO NPs and OA/ALA particularly activated the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-apoptosis genes. In combination, these results showed that FFA could influence the colloidal aspects and toxicological signaling pathway of ZnO NPs, which is dependent on the number of unsaturated bonds of FFA.     

Quantitative chemical exchange saturation transfer (qCEST) MRI – omega plot analysis of RF‐spillover‐corrected inverse CEST ratio asymmetry for simultaneous determination of labile proton ratio and exchange rate

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI is sensitive to labile proton concentration and exchange rate, thus allowing measurement of dilute CEST agent and microenvironmental properties. However, CEST measurement depends not only on the CEST agent properties but also on the experimental conditions. Quantitative CEST (qCEST) analysis has been proposed to address the limitation of the commonly used simplistic CEST‐weighted calculation. Recent research has shown that the concomitant direct RF saturation (spillover) effect can be corrected using an inverse CEST ratio calculation. We postulated that a simplified qCEST analysis is feasible with omega plot analysis of the inverse CEST asymmetry calculation. Specifically, simulations showed that the numerically derived labile proton ratio and exchange rate were in good agreement with input values. In addition, the qCEST analysis was confirmed experimentally in a phantom with concurrent variation in CEST agent concentration and pH. Also, we demonstrated that the derived labile proton ratio increased linearly with creatine concentration (P < 0.01) while the pH‐dependent exchange rate followed a dominantly base‐catalyzed exchange relationship (P < 0.01). In summary, our study verified that a simplified qCEST analysis can simultaneously determine labile proton ratio and exchange rate in a relatively complex in vitro CEST system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.