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The presence of palmitate affected the colloidal stability of ZnO NPs but not the toxicity to Caco-2 cells

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Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) are finding increasing use in food science, but the toxicity of NPs following oral exposure is not fully known. When present in food and food-related products, food components may interact with NPs and thus influence the toxicity of NPs, but relatively few studies have considered the interactions between food components and ZnO NPs. In this study, the interactions between ZnO NPs with different sizes (20 and 100 nm; uncoated) and palmitate (PA) on the toxicity of NPs to Caco-2 cells were investigated. The presence of PA altered UV-Vis spectra, hydrodynamic size, and zeta potential of ZnO NPs of both sizes, which indicated an interaction between PA and ZnO NPs. Furthermore, the interaction decreased the solubility of ZnO NPs in water and cell culture medium. Exposure to both types of ZnO NPs was associated with significantly increased cytotoxicity, lysosomal damages, and intracellular Zn accumulation but not reactive oxygen species (ROS) or release of interleukin-8 (IL-8) in Caco-2 cells. The presence of 100 μM PA did not significantly affect all of these endpoints, and ANOVA analysis indicated no interaction between concentrations of ZnO NPs and the presence of PA. It is concluded that PA as a saturated fatty acid may influence the colloidal stability of ZnO NPs but did not affect the toxicity of ZnO NPs to Caco-2 cells.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate Prof. Peter Moller (University of Copenhagen) to kindly provide the ZnO NPs (NM110) to us.

Funding

This study was funded by the Scientific Research Fund of Hunan Provincial Education Department (15C1331), Xiangtan University start-up grant (15QDZ14), and Xiangtan University grant (15XZX18).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Chemistry and Applications of Ministry Education, Laboratory of Biochemistry, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, Peoples, Republic of China

    Yu Gong, Juan Li & Yi Cao

  2. Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha, 410205, Peoples, Republic of China

    Liangliang Liu & Yi Cao

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  1. Yu Gong
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  2. Liangliang Liu
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  4. Yi Cao
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Gong, Y., Liu, L., Li, J. et al. The presence of palmitate affected the colloidal stability of ZnO NPs but not the toxicity to Caco-2 cells. J Nanopart Res 19, 335 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-017-4038-9

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