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Background Wide applications of nanoparticles (NPs) have raised increasing concerns about safety to humans. Oxidative stress and inflammation are extensively investigated as mechanisms for NPs-induced toxicity. Autophagy and lysosomal dysfunction are emerging molecular mechanisms. Inhalation is one of the main pathways of exposing humans to NPs, which has been reported to induce severe pulmonary inflammation. However, the underlying mechanisms and, more specifically, the interplays of above-mentioned mechanisms in NPs-induced pulmonary inflammation are still largely obscure. Considered that NPs exposure in modern society is often unavoidable, it is highly desirable to develop effective strategies that could help to prevent nanomaterials-induced pulmonary inflammation. Results Pulmonary inflammation induced by intratracheal instillation of silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) in C57BL/6 mice was prevented by PJ34, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor. In human lung bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B) cells, exposure to SiNPs reduced cell viability, and induced ROS generation, impairment in lysosome function and autophagic flux. Inhibition of ROS generation, PARP and TRPM2 channel suppressed SiNPs-induced lysosome impairment and autophagy dysfunction and consequent inflammatory responses. Consistently, SiNPs-induced pulmonary inflammation was prevented in TRPM2 deficient mice. Conclusion The ROS/PARP/TRPM2 signaling is critical in SiNPs-induced pulmonary inflammation, providing novel mechanistic insights into NPs-induced lung injury. Our study identifies TRPM2 channel as a new target for the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies to mitigate nanomaterials-induced lung inflammation. Graphical abstract

Enhanced phase separation and inverse order-to-order phase transition with increasing temperature was observed for a series of poly (acrylic acid)-b-poly (propylene oxide)-b-poly (acrylic acid) triblock copolymers with various block lengths by temperature-variable synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). This abnormal phase behavior was attributed to the change of hydrogen (H)-bonding interaction in block copolymers upon increasing temperature and theoretically explained from thermodynamic viewpoint. The temperature-dependent FTIR analysis revealed that increasing temperature led to the weakening of overall H-bonding interactions and the increase of free C O and C–O–C groups. The Flory-Huggins interaction parameter χ of PAA and PPO blocks was positive and increased with increasing temperature as determined from the SAXS profiles of disordered block copolymer. The thermodynamic calculation indicated that the increase of ΔH was larger than the decrease of –TΔS with increasing temperature because of the relatively large value of χ, leading to the increase of overall ΔGmix and hence the enhanced phase separation at higher temperature.

A highly selective and sensitive optical sensor was developed to colorimetric detect trace Fe3+ ions in aqueous solution. The sensor was the sulfasalazine (SSZ) functionalized microgels (SSZ-MGs), which were fabricated via in-situ quaternization reaction. The obtained SSZ-MGs had hydrodynamic radius of about 259 &plusmn, 24 nm with uniform size distribution at 25 &deg, C. The SSZ-MG aqueous suspensions can selectively and sensitively response to Fe3+ ions in aqueous solution at 25 &deg, C and pH of 5.6, which can be quantified by UV-visible spectroscopy and also easily distinguished by the naked eye. Job&rsquo, s plot indicated that the molar binding ratio of SSZ moiety in SSZ-MGs to Fe3+ was close to 1:1 with an apparent association constant of 1.72 &times, 104 M&minus, 1. A linear range of 0&ndash, 12 &mu, M with the detection limit of 0.110 &mu, M (0.006 mg/L) was found. The obtained detection limit was much lower than the maximum allowance level of Fe3+ ions in drinking water (0.3 mg/L) regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States. The existence of 19 other species of metal ions, namely, Ag+, Li+, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Ba2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Pb2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Co2+, Cr3+, Yb3+, La3+, Gd3+, Ce3+, and Bi3+, did not interfere with the detection of Fe3+ ions.