The interweaving roles of mineral and microbiome in shaping the antibacterial activity of archaeological medicinal clays.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Medicinal Earths (MEs), natural aluminosilicate-based substances (largely kaolinite and montmorillonite), have been part of the European pharmacopoeia for well over two millennia; they were used generically as antidotes to 'poison'.

Aim Of The Study: To test the antibacterial activity of three Lemnian and three Silesian Earths, medicinal earths in the collection of the Pharmacy Museum of the University of Basel, dating to 16th-18th century and following the methodology outlined in the graphical abstract. To compare them with natural clays of the same composition (reference clays) and synthetic clays (natural clays spiked with elements such as B, Al, Ti and Fe); to assess the parameters which drive antibacterial activity, when present, in each group of samples.

Greco-Roman mineral (litho)therapeutics and their relationship to their microbiome: The case of the red pigment .

This paper introduces a holistic approach to the study of Greco-Roman (G-R) lithotherapeutics. These are the minerals or mineral combinations that appear in the medical and scientific literature of the G-R world. It argues that they can best be described not simply in terms of their bulk chemistry/mineralogy but also their ecological microbiology and nanofraction component.

Dissolved Mn(III) in water treatment works: Prevalence and significance.

Dissolved Mn(III) has been identified at all stages throughout a Water Treatment Works (WTW) receiving inflow from a peaty upland catchment in NE England. Ninety percent of the influent total manganese into the WTW is particulate Mn, in the form of Mn oxide (>0.2 μm).

Dissolution and bandgap paradigms for predicting the toxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles in the marine environment: an in vivo study with oyster embryos.

Dissolution and bandgap paradigms have been proposed for predicting the ability of metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) to induce oxidative stress in different in vitro and in vivo models. Here, we addressed the effectiveness of these paradigms in vivo and under conditions typical of the marine environment, a final sink for many NPs released through aquatic systems. We used ZnO and MnO NPs as models for dissolution and bandgap paradigms, respectively, and CeO NPs to assess reactive oxygen radical (ROS) production via Fenton-like reactions in vivo.

Role of Humic Acid in the Stability of Ag Nanoparticles in Suboxic Conditions.

Stability and temporal changes in size distributions have been observed for citrate- (cit) and polyvinylpyrrolidone- (PVP) capped silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), in the presence or absence of sulfide and natural organic matter (NOM, as humic acid), while under suboxic conditions. There were substantial differences in the influence of the two capping agents, with PVP-AgNPs showing few or no significant changes in apparent stability or particle size distribution under the conditions examined, while the apparent size distributions of citrate-capped AgNPs changed rapidly. Sulfide and humic acid each individually caused immediate increases in cit-AgNP size distributions, which were then relatively stable over 60-145 days.

Mechanisms of Iron Uptake from Ferric Phosphate Nanoparticles in Human Intestinal Caco-2 Cells.

Food fortification programs to reduce iron deficiency anemia require bioavailable forms of iron that do not cause adverse organoleptic effects. Rodent studies show that nano-sized ferric phosphate (NP-FePO4) is as bioavailable as ferrous sulfate, but there is controversy over the mechanism of absorption. We undertook in vitro studies to examine this using a Caco-2 cell model and simulated gastrointestinal (GI) digestion.

Nanoparticles in the lung and their protein corona: the few proteins that count.

The formation of protein coronae on nanoparticles (NPs) has been investigated almost exclusively in serum, despite the prevailing route of exposure being inhalation of airborne particles. In addition, an increasing number of nanomedicines, that exploit the airways as the site of delivery, are undergoing medical trials. An understanding of the effects of NPs on the airways is therefore required.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles induce oxidative stress in the sediment-dwelling amphipod Corophium volutator.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) exhibit fast valence exchange between Ce(IV) and Ce(III) associated with oxygen storage and both pro and antioxidant activities have been reported in laboratory models. The reactivity of CeO2 NPs once they are released into the aquatic environment is virtually unknown, but this is important to determine for assessing their environmental risk. Here, we show that amphipods (Corophium volutator) grown in marine sediments containing CeO2 NPs showed a significant increase in oxidative damage compared to those grown in sediments without NPs and those containing large-sized (bulk) CeO2 particles.

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) inhibits agglomeration and macrophage uptake of toxic amine modified nanoparticles.

The lung provides the main route for nanomaterial exposure. Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is an important respiratory innate immune molecule with the ability to bind or opsonise pathogens to enhance phagocytic removal from the airways. We hypothesised that SP-A, like surfactant protein D, may interact with inhaled nanoparticulates, and that this interaction will be affected by nanoparticle (NP) surface characteristics.