Abstract
The in vitro cytotoxicity of nano silver nanoparticles (nAg, 99 ± 75 nm) and nano zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO, 27 ± 7 nm) pretreated with citric acid (CA), tartaric acid (TA), and fulvic acid (FA) to human pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells (A549 cells), a common model cell strain, was investigated. The LC50 values of CA-, FA-, and TA-nZnO (19–22 μg ml−1) were higher than those of the pristine nZnO (15 μg ml−1), and CA, FA, and TA depressed ROS levels and inhibited the apoptosis process induced by nZnO since they decreased Zn2+ release from nZnO in culture medium. The LC50 values of CA-, FA-, and TA-nAg (111–120 μg ml−1) were lower than that of the pristine nAg (185 μg ml−1), and CA, FA, and TA significantly improved the ROS levels induced by nAg by increasing the cellular uptake of nAg. Therefore, CA, FA, and TA decrease the cytotoxicity of nZnO while increasing the cytotoxicity of nAg.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amini SM (2019) Preparation of antimicrobial metallic nanoparticles with bioactive compounds. Mater Sci Eng C 103:109809
Amini SM, Akbari A (2019) Metal nanoparticles synthesis through natural phenolic acids. IET Nanobiotechnol 13:771–777
Austin CA, Hinkley GK, Mishra AR, Zhang Q, Umbreit TH, Betz MW, E. Wildt B, Casey BJ, Francke-Carroll S, Hussain SM, Roberts SM, Brown KM, Goering PL (2016) Distribution and accumulation of 10 nm silver nanoparticles in maternal tissues and visceral yolk sac of pregnant mice, and a potential effect on embryo growth. Nanotoxicology 10:654–661
Baalousha M, Afshinnia K, Guo LD (2018) Natural organic matter composition determines the molecular nature of silver nanomaterial-NOM corona. Environ Sci Nano 5:868–881
Elsharkawy EE, El-Nasser MA, Kamaly HF (2019) Silver nanoparticles testicular toxicity in rat. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 70:103194
Figueiredo P, Sipponen MH, Lintinen K, Correia A, Kiriazis A et al (2019) Preparation and characterization of dentin phosphophoryn-derived peptide-functionalized lignin nanoparticles for enhanced cellular uptake. Small 15:1901427
Gliga AR, Skoglund S, Wallinder IO, Fadeel B, Karlsson HL (2014) Size-dependent cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles in human lung cells: the role of cellular uptake, agglomeration and Ag release. Part Fibre Toxicol 11:11
Hackenberg S, Scherzed A, AntjeTechnau KM, Froelich K et al (2011) Cytotoxic, genotoxic and pro-inflammatory effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles in human nasal mucosa cells in vitro. Toxicol in Vitro 25:657–663
Hsiao IL, Hsieh YK, Wang CF, Chen IC, Huang YJ (2015) Trojan-horse mechanism in the cellular uptake of silver nanoparticles verified by direct intra- and extracellular silver speciation analysis. Environ Sci Technol 49:3813–3821
Huk A, Izak-Nau E, el Yamani N, Uggerud H, Vadset M et al (2015) Impact of nanosilver on various DNA lesions and HPRT gene mutations - effects of charge and surface coating. Part Fibre Toxicol 12:25
Jeng HA, Swanson J (2006) Toxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles in mammalian cells. J Environ Sci Health A 41:2699–2711
Kermanizadeh A, Jantzen K, Ward MB, Durhuus JA, Rasmussen LJ et al (2017) Nanomaterial-induced cell death in pulmonary and hepatic cells following exposure to three different metallic materials: the role of autophagy and apoptosis. Nanotoxicology 11:184–200
Martin A, Sarkar A (2017) Overview on biological implications of metal oxide nanoparticle exposure to human alveolar A549 cell line. Nanotoxicology 11:713–724
Mosquera J, Henriksen-Lacey M, Garcia I, Martinez-Calvo M, Rodriguez J et al (2018) Cellular uptake of gold nanoparticles triggered by host-guest interactions. J Am Chem Soc 140:4469–4472
Müller L, Steiner SK, Rodriguez-Lorenzo L, Petri-Fink A, Latzin P (2017) Exposure to silver nanoparticles affects viability and function of natural killer cells, mostly via the release of ions. Cell Biol Toxicol 34:1–10
Ortega R, Bresson C, Darolles C, Gautier C, Roudeau S et al (2014) Low-solubility particles and a Trojan-horse type mechanism of toxicity: the case of cobalt oxide on human lung cells. Part Fibre Toxicol 11:14
Pandurangan M, Kim DH (2015) In vitro toxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles: a review. J Nanopart Res 17:158
Prach M, Stone V, Proudfoot L (2013) Zinc oxide nanoparticles and monocytes: impact of size, charge and solubility on activation status. Toxicol Appl Pharm 266:19–26
Sabella S, Carney RP, Brunetti V, Malvindi MA, Al-Juffali N et al (2014) A general mechanism for intracellular toxicity of metal-containing nanoparticles. Nanoscale 6:7052–7061
Sirelkhatim A, Mahmud S, Seeni A, Kaus NHM (2016) Preferential cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticle towards cervical cancer cells induced by ROS-mediated apoptosis and cell cycle arrest for cancer therapy. J Nanopart Res 18:219
Wang Y-H, Li K-J, Mao L, Hu X, Zhao W-J et al (2013) Effects of exogenous zinc on cell cycle, apoptosis and viability of MDAMB231, HepG2 and 293 T cells. Biol Trace Elem Res 154:418–426
Wang Y-H, Zhao W-J, Zheng W-j, Mao L, H-z L et al (2016) Effects of different zinc species on cellar zinc distribution, cell cycle, apoptosis and viability in MDAMB231 cells. Biol Trace Elem Res 170:75–83
Wu B, Wu JL, Liu S, Shen ZY, Chen L, Zhang XX, Ren HQ (2019) Combined effects of graphene oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticle on human A549 cells: bioavailability, toxicity and mechanisms. Environ Sci Nano 6:635–645
Zhang LQ, Wang WX (2019) Dominant role of silver ions in silver nanoparticle toxicity to a unicellular alga: evidence from luminogen imaging. Environ Sci Technol 53:494–502
Zhang ZJ, Tang ZJ, Zhu ZY, Cao ZM, Chen HJ et al (2018) The time-dependent cellular response mechanism upon exposure to zinc oxide nanoparticles. J Nanopart Res 20:263
Zhao W-J, Song Q, Wang Y-H, Li K-J, Mao L et al (2014) Zn-responsive proteome profiling and time-dependent expression of proteins regulated by MTF-1 in A549 cells. PLoS One 9:e105797
Zhao W-J, Song Q, Zhang Z-J, Mao L, Zheng W-J et al (2015) The kinetic response of the proteome in A549 cells exposed to ZnSO4 stress. PLoS One 10:e0133451
Zhong LJ, Yu YL, Lian HZ, Hu X, Fu HM et al (2017) Solubility of nano-sized metal oxides evaluated by using in vitro simulated lung and gastrointestinal fluids: implication for health risks. J Nanopart Res 19:375
Zhong LJ, Hu X, Cao ZM, Wang HW, Chen YJ, Lian HZ (2019) Aggregation and dissolution of engineering nano Ag and ZnO pretreated with natural organic matters in the simulated lung biological fluids. Chemosphere 225:668–677
Zhu L, Guo D, Sun L, Huang Z, Zhang X, Ma W, Wu J, Xiao L, Zhao Y, Gu N (2017) Activation of autophagy by elevated reactive oxygen species rather than released silver ions promotes cytotoxicity of polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated silver nanoparticles in hematopoietic cells. Nanoscale 9:5489–5498
Funding
This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91543129 and 91643105) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (BK20181261).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(DOCX 1978 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhong, L., Chen, S., Tang, Z. et al. Cytotoxicity of nZnO and nAg to A549 cells influenced by environmental natural organic matters. J Nanopart Res 22, 214 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-020-04951-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-020-04951-2