ZnO nanoparticles induce melanoma-like lesions via recruiting dermal dendritic cells in barrier-damaged skin in mice.

ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) are used in skin treatments and cosmetics, the toxicity of long-term and continuous exposure to ZnO NPs is unknown. Mice with epidermal barrier dysfunction revealed melanoma-like lesions after continuous exposure to ZnO NPs. However, the effects of metallic NPs on the skin microenvironment and immune system remain poorly understood.

Continuous ZnO nanoparticle exposure induces melanoma-like skin lesions in epidermal barrier dysfunction model mice through anti-apoptotic effects mediated by the oxidative stress-activated NF-κB pathway.

Background: Increasing interest in the hazardous properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), commonly used as ultraviolet filters in sunscreen, has driven efforts to study the percutaneous application of ZnO NPs to diseased skin; however, in-depth studies of toxic effects on melanocytes under conditions of epidermal barrier dysfunction remain lacking.

Methods: Epidermal barrier dysfunction model mice were continuously exposed to a ZnO NP-containing suspension for 14 and 49 consecutive days in vivo. Melanoma-like change and molecular mechanisms were also verified in human epidermal melanocytes treated with 5.

Vanadium dioxide based broadband THz metamaterial absorbers with high tunability: simulation study.

With their unprecedented flexibility in manipulating electromagnetic waves, metamaterials provide a pathway to structural materials that can fill the so-called "THz gap". It has been reported that vanadium dioxide (VO) experiences a three orders of magnitude increase in THz electrical conductivity when it undergoes an insulator-to-metal transition. Here, we propose a VO based THz metamaterial absorber exhibiting broadband absorptivity that arises from the multiple resonances supported by a delicately balanced doubly periodic array of VO structures and numerically demonstrate that the corresponding absorption behavior is highly dependent on the VO's THz electrical properties.