The development of hybrid nanoscintillators is hunted for the implementation of modern detection technologies, like in high energy physics, homeland security, radioactive gas sensing, and medical imaging, as well as of the established therapies in radiation oncology, such as in X-ray activated photodynamic therapy. Engineering of the physico-chemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) enables the manufacture of hybrids in which the conjugation of inorganic/organic components leads to increased multifunctionality and performance. However, the optimization of the properties of nanoparticles in combination with the use of ionizing radiation is not trivial: a complete knowledge on the structure, composition, physico-chemical features, and scintillation property relationships in hybrid nanomaterials is pivotal for any applications exploiting X-rays. In this paper, the design of hybrid nanoscintillators based on ZnO grown onto porous SiO2 substrates (ZnO/SiO2) has been performed in the view to create nanosystems potentially suitable in X-ray activated photodynamic therapy. Indeed, cytotoxic porphyrin dyes with increasing concentrations have been anchored on ZnO/SiO2 nanoparticles through amino-silane moieties. Chemical and structural analyses correlated with photoluminescence reveal that radiative energy transfer between ZnO and porphyrins is the principal mechanism prompting the excitation of photosensitizers. The use of soft X-ray excitation results in a further sensitization of the porphyrin emission, due to augmented energy deposition promoted by ZnO in the surroundings of the chemically bound porphyrin. This finding unveils the cruciality of the design of hybrid nanoparticles in ruling the efficacy of the interaction between ionizing radiation and inorganic/organic moieties, and thus of the final nanomaterial performances towards the foreseen application.

• MeSH
• luminiscence MeSH
• nanočástice * chemie   MeSH
• oxid křemičitý chemie   MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý * chemie   MeSH
• porfyriny * MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• oxid křemičitý MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý * MeSH
• porfyriny * MeSH

This article aims to explore interaction of nanoparticles ZnO, TiO2 and CeO2 with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The samples of nanoparticles were laboratory prepared and compared with commercial nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were characterized by SEM, zeta potential and size measurements. Adsorption of particles took place at pH where the zeta potential of the protein and nanoparticles was opposite. Then the zeta potential and size distribution were measured and the amount of protein needed to reduce the zeta potential of nanoparticles to zero was determined. The changes of BSA structure were also observed by Circular Dichroism (CD). The change of BSA structure after the adsorption on nanoparticles was confirmed. The content of BSA α-helix structure varies during experiments from 13 to 77% in dependence of concentration of nanoparticles. The interaction of TiO2 and BSA was confirmed also by the Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technique. On laboratory prepared TiO2 was bound amount of 73,4 pg·mm-2.

• Klíčová slova
• BSA, CeO(2), TiO(2), Zeta potential, ZnO,
• MeSH
• cer chemie   MeSH
• nanočástice chemie   MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý chemie   MeSH
• povrchové vlastnosti MeSH
• sérový albumin hovězí chemie   MeSH
• skot MeSH
• titan chemie   MeSH
• velikost částic MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• skot MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• cer MeSH
• ceric oxide MeSH Prohlížeč
• oxid zinečnatý MeSH
• sérový albumin hovězí MeSH
• titan MeSH
• titanium dioxide MeSH Prohlížeč

To assess the uptake of nanoparticles by moss shoots and the possibility of biomonitoring the moss of nanoparticle pollution, two moss species frequently used in biomonitoring surveys [Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) Schimp. and Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt.] were repeatedly exposed to known concentrations of either nano-TiO2 or nano-ZnO suspensions. The interspecies differences were assessed by exposing both the species to 1 g L-1 nano-ZnO suspension, H. splendens samples were also exposed to either 0.1 g L-1 or 1 g L-1 suspension of nano TiO2. The exposed samples were analysed for Zn or Ti content using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy. Both species showed a similar accumulation pattern, H. splendens being a slightly better accumulator. The washing suggests that Ti successfully penetrated the interior of the gametophyte. Since the relationship between the exposure and accumulation is linear, moss biomonitoring is, hereby, considered to be a viable, novel technique in nanoparticle pollution assessment.

• Klíčová slova
• Biomonitoring, Moss, Nano-TiO2, Nano-ZnO, Pollution,
• MeSH
• Bryophyta chemie   MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí metody   MeSH
• nanočástice chemie   MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý analýza   MeSH
• spektrální analýza metody   MeSH
• titan analýza   MeSH
• výhonky rostlin chemie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• oxid zinečnatý MeSH
• titan MeSH
• titanium dioxide MeSH Prohlížeč

ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) are widely used in industrial and consumer products. Therefore understanding their interaction with biological systems is key to their safe application. Proteomics was applied to assess the sub-lethal effects of dietary ZnO NPs on two parts of carp intestine, the intestinal folds and the muscular parts. A commercial carp feed containing 500mgkg-1 of ZnO NPs was fed to fish for six weeks. The abundances of 32 proteins in the treated intestinal folds were significantly changed and in addition, 28 proteins were significantly changed in the muscular parts. Pathways analysis revealed downregulation of pathways attributed to protein synthesis in both parts of the treated intestine. Remodelling of actin cytoskeleton pathways were regulated positively and negatively in intestinal folds and muscular parts, respectively, albeit via different mechanisms. Apoptosis response was indicated in exposed intestinal folds, whereas elevated levels of protein associated with cancerous cell survival were observed in the muscular parts. Results showed that ZnO NPs affected the protein abundances associated with cell motility, immune system response, oxidative stress response, as well as cell metabolism. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD006867.

• Klíčová slova
• Apoptosis, Common carp, Intestine, Proteomics, ZnO nanoparticles,
• MeSH
• dietární expozice * MeSH
• kapři * MeSH
• nanočástice škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• proteom metabolismus   MeSH
• střevní sliznice metabolismus   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• oxid zinečnatý MeSH
• proteom MeSH

Ingestion of nanoparticles (NPs) with antimicrobial properties may disrupt the balance of intestinal microbiota. To investigate the effects of zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs on intestinal flora, common carp Cyprinus carpio were fed a commercial feed containing 500 mg kg-1 ZnO NPs for 6 weeks and compared to a control group receiving a similar feed-only regime. Sequencing data were analyzed both in individual fish and in pooled samples. Sequencing of 16S rRNA encoding gene of individual specimens revealed high variation in intestinal microbial composition. Assessment of pooled results can obscure high individual variation in data. ZnO NPs consumption was not associated with a significant difference in the intestinal microbial community compared to untreated controls. Our results indicated a high individual variation in the intestinal microbiome, which may further point out the importance of functional study over microbial composition to address nanomaterials-microbiome relationship.

• Klíčová slova
• Common carp, Intestine, Microbiome, Nanoparticles, ZnO,
• MeSH
• kapři MeSH
• mikrobiota MeSH
• nanočástice MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• potraviny MeSH
• RNA ribozomální 16S chemie   MeSH
• střeva fyziologie   MeSH
• střevní mikroflóra účinky léků   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• oxid zinečnatý MeSH
• RNA ribozomální 16S MeSH

At present, nanoparticles have been more and more used in a wide range of areas. However, very little is known about the mechanisms of their impact on plants, as both positive and negative effects have been reported. As plant interactions with the environment are mediated by plant hormones, complex phytohormone analysis has been performed in order to characterize the effect of ZnO nanoparticles (mean size 30nm, concentration range 0.16-100mgL-1) on Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Taking into account that plant hormones exhibit high tissue-specificity as well as an intensive cross-talk in the regulation of growth and development as well as defense, plant responses were followed by determination of the content of five main phytohormones (cytokinins, auxins, abscisic acid, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid) in apices, leaves and roots. Increasing nanoparticle concentration was associated with gradually suppressed biosynthesis of the growth promoting hormones cytokinins and auxins in shoot apical meristems (apices). In contrast, cis-zeatin, a cytokinin associated with stress responses, was elevated by 280% and 590% upon exposure to nanoparticle concentrations 20 and 100mgL-1, respectively, in roots. Higher ZnO nanoparticle doses resulted in up-regulation of the stress hormone abscisic acid, mainly in apices and leaves. In case of salicylic acid, stimulation was found in leaves and roots. The other stress hormone jasmonic acid (as well as its active metabolite jasmonate isoleucine) was suppressed at the presence of nanoparticles. The earliest response to nanoparticles, associated with down-regulation of growth as well as of cytokinins and auxins, was observed in apices. At higher dose, up-regulation of abscisic acid, was detected. This increase, together with elevation of the other stress hormone - salicylic acid, indicates that plants sense nanoparticles as severe stress. Gradual accumulation of cis-zeatin in roots may contribute to relatively higher stress resistance of this tissue.

• Klíčová slova
• Abscisic acid, Cytokinin, Plant hormone, ZnO nanoparticle,
• MeSH
• Arabidopsis účinky léků   fyziologie   MeSH
• kovové nanočástice * MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý farmakologie   MeSH
• regulace genové exprese u rostlin MeSH
• regulátory růstu rostlin fyziologie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• oxid zinečnatý MeSH
• regulátory růstu rostlin MeSH

Biofilm formation by the pathogenic bacteria generates a serious threat to the public health as it can increase the virulence potential, resistance to drugs, and escape from the host immune response mechanisms. Among the environmental factors that influence the biofilm formation, there are only limited reports available on the role of antimicrobial agents. During the antimicrobial drug administration or application for any purpose, the microbial population can expect to get exposed to the sub-minimum inhibitory concentration (sub-MIC) of the drug which will have an unprecedented impact on microbial responses. Hence, the study has been conducted to investigate the effects of sub-MIC levels of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on the biofilm formation of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Here, the selected bacteria were primarily screened for the biofilm formation by using the Congo red agar method, and their susceptibility to ZnO NPs was also evaluated. Quantitative difference in biofilm formation by the selected organisms in the presence of ZnO NPs at the sub-MIC level was further carried out by using the microtiter plate-crystal violet assay. Further, the samples were subjected to atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis to evaluate the properties and pattern of the biofilm modulated under the experimental conditions used. From these, the organisms treated with sub-MIC levels of ZnO NPs were found to have enhanced biofilm formation when compared with the untreated sample. Also, no microbial growth could be observed for the samples treated with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ZnO NPs. The results observed in the study provide key insights into the impact of nanomaterials on clinically important microorganisms which demands critical thinking on the antimicrobial use of nanomaterials.

• Klíčová slova
• Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Antimicrobial agents, Biofilm modulation, Sub-MIC, Zinc oxide nanoparticles,
• MeSH
• antibakteriální látky * farmakologie   MeSH
• biofilmy * účinky léků   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• Klebsiella pneumoniae * účinky léků   fyziologie   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• kovové nanočástice chemie   MeSH
• mikrobiální testy citlivosti * MeSH
• mikroskopie atomárních sil MeSH
• nanočástice chemie   MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý * farmakologie   chemie   MeSH
• Staphylococcus aureus * účinky léků   fyziologie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antibakteriální látky * MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý * MeSH

Band bending modification of metal/semiconductor hybrid nanostructures requires low-cost and effective designs in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. To this end, it is evinced that gradient doping of Au nanoparticles (NPs) inwards the ZnO nanorods (NRs) through thermal treatment facilitated faster transport of the photo-induced charge carriers. Systematic PEC measurements show that the resulting gradient Au-doped ZnO NRs yielded a photocurrent density of 0.009 mA/cm2 at 1.1 V (vs. NHE), which is 2.5-fold and 8-fold improved compared to those of Au-sensitized ZnO and the as-prepared ZnO NRs, respectively. The IPCE and ABPE efficiency tests confirmed the boosted photoresponse of gradient Au-incorporated ZnO NRs, particularly in the visible spectrum due to the synergistic surface plasmonic effect of Au NPs. A gradient Au dopant profile promoted the separation and transfer of the photo-induced charge carriers at the electrolyte interface via more upward band bending according to the elaborated electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy analyses. Therefore, this research presents an economical and facile strategy for preparing gradient plasmonic noble NP-incorporated semiconductor NRs, which have excellent potential in energy conversion and storage technologies.

• Klíčová slova
• Au nanoparticles, ZnO nanorods, gradient doping, photoelectrochemical, surface plasmon effect,
• MeSH
• kovové nanočástice * MeSH
• nanostruktury * MeSH
• nanotrubičky * MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý * MeSH
• zlato MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• oxid zinečnatý * MeSH
• zlato MeSH

To address the knowledge gap on the effects of the co-existence of nanomaterials on plant growth, barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants were irrigated with zinc oxide nanoparticles (0.5 g L-1), nanoplastics (1 g L-1), and the combination of these two nanomaterials for 10 days. The co-existence of nanoplastics and ZnO nanoparticles increased H2O2 concentration by 12.76% and 38.30%, compared with the ZnO nanoparticles and nanoplastics exposure. The concentration of abscisic acid (ABA) in plants under the co-existence of nanoplastics and ZnO nanoparticles was 29.53% and 10.42% higher than that in ZnO nanoparticles treated plants and nanoplastics treated plants. The global analysis of phosphoproteomics identified 132 phosphorylated proteins and 173 phosphorylation sites in barley leaves exposed to the nanomaterial combination, which were related to photosynthesis, carbon fixation, nitrogen metabolism, and arginine and proline metabolisms. Further physiological analysis indicated that the combination of ZnO nanoparticles and nanoplastics caused larger damage to the systems of antioxidant and carbohydrate metabolisms as exemplified by decreased activities of apoplastic peroxidases (25.10%-48.60%), glutathione reductase (91.07%-94.94%), and sucrose synthase (53.59%-61.19%) in roots and increased cell wall invertase activity (12.97%-17.61%) in leaves, compared with the single nanomaterial treatments. These results indicate that the modulations in protein phosphorylation were closely related to the physiological responses to nanomaterial exposure, suggesting that the co-existence of nanomaterials may lead to greater impacts than single ones.

• Klíčová slova
• Carbohydrate metabolism, Hordeum vulgare, Nanoplastics, Phosphoproteomics, Redox homeostasis,
• MeSH
• fosforylace MeSH
• ječmen (rod) * MeSH
• mikroplasty MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý * toxicita   MeSH
• peroxid vodíku metabolismus   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• mikroplasty MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý * MeSH
• peroxid vodíku MeSH

The glass clover snail, Monacha cartusiana (M. cartusiana) is one of the most seriously impacting economic animal pests spreading across Egypt which inflicts severe damages to the agriculture. A green route is developed by deploying an abundant Rosemary plant leaves aqueous extract to synthesize ZnO and F-doped ZnO (F-ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) that display high molluscicidal activities against the M. cartusiana land snails via leaf dipping and contact techniques. The effect of lethal concentrations, that kills 50% of exposed snails (LC50) value of the treatments, is examined on the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), enzymes, total protein (TP), total lipids (TL) and cholesterol level of snails, including the histopathological evaluation of the digestive gland and foot of M. Cartusiana. Their molluscicidal activity as poisonous baits under field conditions is also evaluated and compared to the recommended molluscicide, Neomyl. The results show that F- doping dramatically improves the snail control capability of ZnO NPs, and promotes a considerable increase in both ALT and AST enzymes with an enhancement of TL and Cholesterol levels, but a significant decrease in TP content and ALP activity in treated snails compared to the control group. The LC50 values are found to be 1381.55 and 2197.59 ppm using the leaf dipping for F-ZnO and ZnO, while 237.51 and 245.90 ppm can be achieved using the contact technique, respectively. The greenly synthesized F-ZnO and ZnO NPs induce severe histological alterations in the digestive gland and foot of M. cartusiana, including a complete destruction of the digestive tubules. The histological evaluation of the foot of M. cartusiana exposed to ZnO, shows a rupture of the epithelial layer of the foot sole, while F- ZnO NPs causes the folds of the foot becoming deeper and the rupture of epithelial layer. Our field experiments further demonstrate that F-ZnO achieves 60.08% reduction, while ZnO attains 56.39% diminution in snail population compared to the commercial, Neomyl (69.55%), exhibiting great potentials in controlling the harmful land snail populations.

• Klíčová slova
• Green synthesis, Histopathological evaluation, Land snail, Molluscicidal activity, Monacha cartusiana, ZnO nanoparticles,
• MeSH
• cholesterol MeSH
• LD50 MeSH
• listy rostlin MeSH
• moluskacidy * toxicita   MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý * toxicita   MeSH
• rostlinné extrakty chemie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• cholesterol MeSH
• moluskacidy * MeSH
• oxid zinečnatý * MeSH
• rostlinné extrakty MeSH