Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
chain dysfunction, microsomes, peroxisomes and inflammatory reactions within the cell.
InterferenceofENPswiththeintrinsicsourcesformsthesuperoxideanion(O 2 ᆵǙ).
Superoxide radical can be further converted to either hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 )
orhydroxyl(OH˙)radicals.Ngetal.( 2010 )andLietal.( 2009 ) showed that the
presenceofintracellularmetalionscanfacilitateaFenton-likereactionbyinteract-
ing with the superoxide and peroxide radicals. This forms OHǙ radicals that are
extremely toxic to cells.
The following are possible reactions of metal ions with the H 2 O 2 and O 2 ᆵǙ:
X (a) + O 2 ₒ X (a−1) + O 2
X (a−1) + H 2 O 2 ₒ X (a) + OHǙ + OH ,
Where, X = Fe, Zn, Cr, Cd and other metal ions.
ENPs ultimately cause toxicity by inducing oxidative stress. He et al. ( 2011 )
observed that carbon nanotubes can cause mitochondrial damage by inducing pro-
inflammatory and fibrotic signals.
Huangetal.( 2010 ) found that metal and metal oxide NPs can induce oxidative
stress through Fenton reactions, when these NPs interact with the extracellular or
intracellularcomponentsofcells.Asharanietal.( 2009 ) reported that AgNPs gener-
ate free radicals in the form of Ag + ions within the cell. Ag + ions are generated after
the AgNPs interact with intracellular H 2 O 2 . Similar reaction mechanisms have been
proposedforothermetalNPslikecobaltandnickel(Asharanietal. 2009 ) and fol-
low the pattern:
2Ag + H 2 O 2 + 2H + ₒ 2Ag + + 2H 2 O Eᄚ = 0.17 V
Choi et al. ( 2008 ) studied the interaction of mitochondrial enzymes with oxi-
dizedAgandfoundthattheygeneratedROS.
Cells normally have inbuilt mechanisms to overcome oxidative stress. However,
excess stress may damage the mitochondria, cause lipid peroxidation, disrupt ion
channels, interrupt Ca 2+ homeostasis, curtail oxidation of sulfhydryls, damage DNA
andcausecelldeath(Fig. 5 ).
6.2
Interaction with Proteins
The physico-chemical properties of NPs influence how they interact with proteins.
Kim et al. ( 2007 ) reported that multireceptor sites on rat brain epithelial cells
(RBEC)facilitatetheinteractionofNPswithapolipoproteinsinwaysthatallowthe
NPstoenterthecells.LynchandDawson( 2008 ) suggested that the interaction of
NPswithproteinscouldforma“proteincorona”,whichpromotescellinternaliza-
tion of NPs.
Aggarwaletal.( 2009 ) found that NP-protein interactions alter the 3D confirma-
tionofproteins,leadingtoimpairmentofproteinactivity.HalliwellandGutteridge
( 1999 ) reported that metal NPs interact with sulfhydryl (-SH) groups present on
proteins.SuchinteractionscouldoxidizeGSH,andinhibitantioxidantpathways.
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