CuO nanoparticles (CuO-NPs) serve several important functions in human life, particularly in the fields of medicine, engineering, and technology. These nanoparticles have been utilized as catalysts, semiconductors, sensors, gaseous and solid ceramic pigments, and magnet rotatable devices. Further use for CuO-NPs has been employed in the pharmaceutical industry especially in the production of anti-microbial fabric treatments or prevention of infections caused by Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Two key potential routes of exposure to CuO-NPs exist through inhalation and skin exposure. Toxicity of these nanoparticles has been reported in various studies; however, no study as of yet has investigated the complete cellular mechanisms involved in CuO-NPs toxicity on human cells. The aim of this study was to determine the cytotoxicity of CuO-NPs on human blood lymphocytes. Blood lymphocytes were obtained from healthy male subjects through the use of Ficoll polysaccharide subsequently by gradient centrifugation. The following parameters were assayed in blood lymphocytes after a 6-h incubation with different concentrations of CuO-NPs: cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, lipid peroxidation, cellular glutathione levels, and mitochondrial and lysosomal damage. Our results demonstrate that CuO-NPs, in particular, decreased cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner and the IC50 determined was 382 μM. CuO-NP cytotoxicity was associated with significant increase at intracellular ROS level and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and lysosomal membrane leakiness. Hence, CuO-NPs are shown to effectively induce oxidative stress in addition to inflict damage on mitochondria and lysosomes in human blood lymphocytes.

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Production of local microbubbles (MBs) with dense distribution in tumor environment is achieved by developing an integrated electrochemical stimulator on a microfabricated silicon needle covered by zinc‐oxide nanowires (ZnONWs). MBs are then exploded by external ultrasonic actuation, which induce microcavitations in tumor cells followed by direct entrance of anticancer drugs into cancer cells. This system, named ZnO nanowire‐based microbubble generator probe (ZnONW‐MGP), is tested on tumorized mice models (by MC4L2 breast cell lines). Mice treated by ZnONW‐MGP have ≈82% reduction in tumor size within 10 days with just 25% of conventional dose of paclitaxel while in the absence of the system, they have just a 15% reduction in tumor size. Presence of ZnO nanostructures on microneedles strongly reduces the size of MBs and enhances the efficacy of the sonoporation.

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This study reports the experimental relative permittivity, refractive index, and density data for several polar binary systems containing a cyclic ketone (cyclopentanone) and a series of alkanols from C 2 to C 10 over the entire composition range at T = 298.15 and p = 101.3 kPa. Further study was performed on a polar−nonpolar system composed of cyclopentanone and cyclohexane at the mentioned temperature and pressure. The experimental data were analyzed with various approaches in a consistence framework and in terms of intermolecular interactions between the constituent molecules. The effective and corrective Kirkwood correlation factors were calculated, in order to investigate the H-bond structure formation in the mixtures. The intermolecular interactions were investigated through various excess parameters, namely, excess permittivity, excess refractive index, excess molar volumes, excess Helmholtz energies, and excess Kirkwood correlation factors.