We demonstrate a general mechanism for the toxicity induced by metal-containing NPs, named “lysosome-enhanced Trojan horse effect”, which provides design rules to engineer safer NPs.

We show that water soluble InP/ZnS core/shell QDs are a safer alternative to CdSe/ZnS QDs for biological applications, by comparing their toxicity in vitro (cell culture) and in vivo (animal model Drosophila). By choosing QDs with comparable physical and chemical properties, we find that cellular uptake and localization are practically identical for these two nanomaterials. Toxicity of CdSe/ZnS QDs appears to be related to the release of poisonous Cd(2+) ions and indeed we show that there is leaching of Cd(2+) ions from the particle core despite the two-layer ZnS shell. Since an almost identical amount of In(III) ions is observed to leach from the core of InP/ZnS QDs, their very low toxicity as revealed in this study hints at a much lower intrinsic toxicity of indium compared to cadmium.

Heat-induced modifications in the tertiary and quaternary structure of P-lactoglobulin were followed at neutral pH for the protein at high temperature and for the protein that was heated and cooled. Fast changes in the environment of aromatic amino acids were apparent from near-ultraviolet-CD spectra of the heated protein and their intensity increased with increasing temperature. These modifications were irreversible only at temperatures higher than 65 -70°C. Addition of iodoacetamide during the heating/ cooling cycle greatly reduced the extent of irreversible modification of the tertiary structure of the protein.Reaction of the native P-lactoglobulin dimer with iodoacetamide or dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) was only observed upon heating at temperatures higher than 40 "C and resulted in progressive reaction of the unique sulfhydryl group in each of the two protein monomers. The sulfhydryl reagents induced release of a monomeric protein species that was no longer able to aggregate to the native dimeric form or to sequentially form polymers as found in the protein after heating at high temperature. Dimer dissociation was identified as the rate-limiting step in the reaction of P-lactoglobulin with sulfhydryl reagents. It occurred at temperatures much lower than those required for appreciable modification of the tertiary structure of the protein, and had an extremely high activation energy (E, = 213 kJ/mol). These results are compared with other published data, and a general mechanism for the formation of early reactive species in heat-treated P-lactoglobulin at neutral pH is proposed which stresses the relevant role of a highly hydrophobic, molten-globule-like free monomer that has an exposed sulfhydryl group on its surface.Keywords: p-lactoglobulin ; heat denaturation ; sulfhydryl groups.The globular protein P-lactoglobulin is found in the whey fraction of the milk of many mammals. In spite of numerous physical and biochemical studies, its function is not clearly understood [ l , 21. The crystal structure of bovine P-lactoglobulin has been determined and shows similarities to the plasma retinol-binding protein and the odorant-binding protein [3, 41. This finding suggests that the role of P-lactoglobulin may be connected with transport or accumulation of lipid-soluble biological components [5, 61.Refolding of the tertiary structure of &lactoglobulin from the chaotrope-denatured form has been investigated extensively at low pH, where the association of monomers into multimeric forms is minimal [7, 81 and refolding conforms to the moltenglobule hypothesis of intermediate formation in protein folding/ unfolding 191. The high stability of P-lactoglobulin at low pH has been explained by the strong stabilizing action of the two disulfide bonds present in its tertiary structure [2, lo]. The free, highly reactive -SH group of Cys121 in each monomer has been shown to be involved in intramolecular and intermolecular disulfide interchange with other -SH groups in treated milk [I 1 -131.Despite the large amount of structura...

Halogen bonds, attractive intermolecular interactions between perfluoroalkyl bromides and bromide ions, are present in cocrystals of (-)-sparteinium hydrobromide (1) and (S)-1,2-dibromohexafluoropropane (2; shown schematically), and result in enantiopure and infinite supramolecular helices. The perfluorocarbon-hydrocarbon self-assembly allows the resolution of racemic 2.

Despite the extensive use of silica nanoparticles (SiO(2)NPs) in many fields, the results about their potential toxicity are still controversial. In this work, we have performed a systematic in vitro study to assess the biological impact of SiO(2)NPs, by investigating 3 different sizes (25, 60 and 115 nm) and 2 surface charges (positive and negative) of the nanoparticles in 5 cell lines (3 in adherence and 2 in suspension). We analyzed the cellular uptake and distribution of the NPs along with their possible effects on cell viability, membrane integrity and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Experimental results show that all the investigated SiO(2)NPs do not induce detectable cytotoxic effects (up to 2.5 nM concentration) in all cell lines, and that cellular uptake is mediated by an endocytic process strongly dependent on the particle size and independent of its original surface charge, due to protein corona effects. Once having assessed the biocompatibility of SiO(2)NPs, we have evaluated their potential in gene delivery, showing their ability to silence specific protein expression. The results of this work indicate that monodisperse and stable SiO(2)NPs are not toxic, revealing their promising potential in various biomedical applications.

Bacterial adhesion onto inorganic/nanoengineered surfaces is a key issue in biotechnology and medicine, because it is one of the first necessary steps to determine a general pathogenic event. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of bacteria-surface interaction represents a milestone for planning a new generation of devices with unanimously certified antibacterial characteristics. Here, we show how highly controlled nanostructured substrates impact the bacterial behavior in terms of morphological, genomic, and proteomic response. We observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that type-1 fimbriae typically disappear in Escherichia coli adherent onto nanostructured substrates, as opposed to bacteria onto reference glass or flat gold surfaces. A genetic variation of the fimbrial operon regulation was consistently identified by real time qPCR in bacteria interacting with the nanorough substrates. To gain a deeper insight into the molecular basis of the interaction mechanisms, we explored the entire proteomic profile of E. coli by 2D-DIGE, finding significant changes in the bacteria adherent onto the nanorough substrates, such as regulations of proteins involved in stress processes and defense mechanisms. We thus demonstrated that a pure physical stimulus, that is, a nanoscale variation of surface topography, may play per se a significant role in determining the morphological, genetic, and proteomic profile of bacteria. These data suggest that in depth investigations of the molecular processes of microorganisms adhering to surfaces are of great importance for the design of innovative biomaterials with active biological functionalities.

The apolipoprotein A-IMilano (apoA-IM) is a molecular variant of apoA-I characterized by the Arg173-->Cys substitution, resulting in the formation of homodimers (A-IM/A-IM) and heterodimers with apoA-II. In order to examine the effects of the introduction of an interchain disulfide bridge on the lipid-binding properties of apoA-I, the present studies compare the kinetics of association of A-IM/A-IM and apoA-I with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC), and the structure and properties of reconstituted HDL containing palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC) and either A-IM/A-IM or apoA-I. The results show that apoA-I dimerization does not affect the rate of association with DMPC. Apolipoprotein-POPC complexes instead, when analyzed by nondenaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, demonstrate that, differently from apoA-I, A-IM/A-IM forms only two species of rHDL particles despite a wide range of initial lipid to protein ratios. These two rHDL species contain one or two A-IM/A-IM molecules and have a diameter of 7.8 nm and 12.5 nm. Investigations of the A-IM/A-IM structure in these two rHDL, by circular dichroism, fluorescence, and second-derivative UV spectroscopy, suggest that the secondary and tertiary structures of A-IM/A-IM are remarkably similar in both small and large particles. These results suggest that the introduction of an interchain disulfide bridge does not affect the association of apoA-I with lipids but restricts HDL particle size heterogeneity, thus possibly affecting HDL function in lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis protection.

Irreversible modifications in tertiary structure, surface hydrophobicity, and association state of β-lactoglobulin were studied after exposure to high pressure (600 and 900 MPa) of solutions of the protein at neutral pH and at different concentrations. Only minor irreversible structural modifications were evident even for treatments as intense as 15 min at 900 MPa. The occurrence of irreversible modifications was time-progressive at 600 MPa but was complete within 2 min at 900 MPa. The irreversibly modified protein was soluble, but some covalent aggregates were formed. Formation of aggregates increased with increasing protein concentration and was prevented by blocking the free thiol moiety in each β-lactoglobulin monomer. Results are discussed in light of their practical relevance, and a unifying denaturation mechanism is envisaged for β-lactoglobulin. In the proposed mechanism, release of monomers represents one of the earliest events, while association of transiently modified monomers stabilizes the denatured forms of the protein. Keywords: β-Lactoglobulin; high-pressure treatments; protein structure; protein association