BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF NANOPARTICLES

RESEARCH DESCRIPTION

With the increasing use of commercial nanomaterials in many consumer products, it is critical to identify potential impacts of nanomaterials on human health and the environment. The distribution of nanomaterials in the environment is governed by modes of release, physical-chemical properties of nanoparticles, and their interactions with biological substrates. One area of research is focuses on thorough physical-chemical characterization of nanomaterials, including chemical composition, size, morphology, surface area, crystallinity, and other physical-chemical properties of the as-received nanomaterials. In the meantime, efforts have been made to understand the nanoparticle behavior under conditions similar to those for in vitro or in vivo toxicity studies. Proteins, serum, and a variety of chemical surfactants are explored to enhance nanoparticle dispersion and stabilization in cell culture media. The protein-nanoparticle interaction and the important parameters that affect such an interaction are also being explored.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS:

•Cerium Dioxide Nanoparticles Induce Apoptosis and Autophagy in Human Peripheral Blood Monocytes. Salik Hussain, Faris Al-Nsour, Annette B. Rice, Jamie Marshburn, Brenda Yingling, Zhaoxia Ji, Jeffrey I. Zink, Nigel J. Walker, and Stavros Garantziotis ACS Nano, 2012, 6 (7), pp 5820–5829.

•Surface Defects on Plate-Shaped Silver Nanoparticles Contribute to Its Hazard Potential in a Fish Gill Cell Line and Zebrafish Embryos. Saji George, Sijie Lin, Zhaoxia Ji, Courtney R. Thomas, LinJiang Li, Mathew Mecklenburg, Huan Meng, Xiang Wang, Haiyuan Zhang, Tian Xia, J. Nathan Hohman, Shuo Lin, Jeffrey I. Zink, Paul S. Weiss, and André E. Nel ACS Nano, 2012, 6 (5), pp 3745–3759.

•Use of Metal Oxide Nanoparticle Band Gap To Develop a Predictive Paradigm for Oxidative Stress and Acute Pulmonary Inflammation. Haiyuan Zhang, Zhaoxia Ji, Tian Xia, Huan Meng, Cecile Low-Kam, Rong Liu, Suman Pokhrel, Sijie Lin, Xiang Wang, Yu-Pei Liao, Meiying Wang, Linjiang Li, Robert Rallo, Robert Damoiseaux, Donatello Telesca, Lutz Mädler, Yoram Cohen, Jeffrey I. Zink, and Andre E. Nel ACS Nano, 2012, 6 (5), pp 4349–4368.

•Differential Expression of Syndecan-1 Mediates Cationic Nanoparticle Toxicity in Undifferentiated versus Differentiated Normal Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells. Haiyuan Zhang, Tian Xia, Huan Meng, Min Xue, Saji George, Zhaoxia Ji, Xiang Wang, Rong Liu, Meiying Wang, Bryan France, Robert Rallo, Robert Damoiseaux, Yoram Cohen, Kenneth A. Bradley, Jeffrey I. Zink, and Andre E. Nel ACS Nano, 2011, 5 (4), pp 2756–2769.

•Nanomaterials in the Environment: From Materials to High-Throughput Screening to Organisms. Courtney R. Thomas, Saji George, Allison M. Horst, Zhaoxia Ji, Robert J. Miller, Jose R. Peralta-Videa, Tian Xia, Suman Pokhrel, Lutz Mädler, Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey, Patricia A. Holden, Arturo A. Keller, Hunter S. Lenihan, Andre E. Nel, and Jeffrey I. Zink ACS Nano, 2011, 5 (1), pp 13–20.