BackgroundThere is increasing interest in the environmental and health consequences of silver nanoparticles as the use of this material becomes widespread. Although human exposure to nanosilver is increasing, only a few studies address possible toxic effect of inhaled nanosilver. The objective of this study was to determine whether very small commercially available nanosilver induces pulmonary toxicity in mice following inhalation exposure.ResultsIn this study, mice were exposed sub-acutely by inhalation to well-characterized nanosilver (3.3 mg/m3, 4 hours/day, 10 days, 5 ± 2 nm primary size). Toxicity was assessed by enumeration of total and differential cells, determination of total protein, lactate dehydrogenase activity and inflammatory cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Lungs were evaluated for histopathologic changes and the presence of silver. In contrast to published in vitro studies, minimal inflammatory response or toxicity was found following exposure to nanosilver in our in vivo study. The median retained dose of nanosilver in the lungs measured by inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was 31 μg/g lung (dry weight) immediately after the final exposure, 10 μg/g following exposure and a 3-wk rest period and zero in sham-exposed controls. Dissolution studies showed that nanosilver did not dissolve in solutions mimicking the intracellular or extracellular milieu.ConclusionsMice exposed to nanosilver showed minimal pulmonary inflammation or cytotoxicity following sub-acute exposures. However, longer term exposures with higher lung burdens of nanosilver are needed to ensure that there are no chronic effects and to evaluate possible translocation to other organs.

Two methods were used to distinguish airborne engineered nanomaterials from other airborne particles in a facility that produces nano-structured lithium titanate metal oxide powder. The first method involved off-line analysis of filter samples collected with conventional respirable samplers at each of seven locations (six near production processes and one outdoors). Throughout most of the facility and outdoors, respirable mass concentrations were low (<0.050 mg m−3) and were attributed to particles other than the nanomaterial (<10% by mass titanium determined with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry). In contrast, in a single area with extensive material handling, mass concentrations were greatest (0.118 mg m−3) and contained up to 39% +/− 11% lithium titanium, indicating the presence of airborne nanomaterial. Analysis of the filter samples collected in this area by transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope revealed that the airborne nanomaterial was associated only with spherical aggregates (clusters of fused 10–80 nm nanoparticles) that were larger than 200 nm. This analysis also showed that nanoparticles in this area were the smallest particles of a larger distribution of submicrometer chain agglomerates likely from welding in an adjacent area of the facility. The second method used two, hand-held, direct-reading, battery-operated instruments to obtain a time series of very fine particle number (<300 nm), respirable mass, and total mass concentration, which were then related to activities within the area of extensive material handling. This activity-based monitoring showed that very fine particle number concentrations (<300 nm) had no apparent correlation to worker activities, but that sharp peaks in the respirable and total mass concentration coincided with loading a hopper and replacing nanomaterial collection bags. These findings were consistent with those from the filter-based method in that they demonstrate that airborne nanoparticles in this facility are dominated by "incidental" sources (e.g., welding or grinding), and that the airborne "engineered" product is predominately composed of particles larger than several hundred nanometers. The methods presented here are applicable to any occupational or environmental setting in which one needs to distinguish incidental sources from engineered product.

Metal-containing nanorods are of great interest from a number of technological perspectives, and they are also present in the natural environment. Here we show that dissolution, both rate and extent, is greater for rod-shaped alpha-FeOOH particles on the nanoscale at pH 2 relative to microrods. However, when nanorods aggregate, either at lower pH and/or high ionic strength, dissolution is either completely quenched or severely quenched, by orders of magnitude. Furthermore, nanorod suspensions are less stable compared to microrod suspensions, resulting in nanorod aggregation under conditions where microrods stay fairly well dispersed. Although recent evidence suggests that particle size is a controlling factor in the solubility of iron oxides, a fundamental understanding of the influence of particle size is just beginning to emerge. The results presented here not only address some of the complexities of size-dependent dissolution of metal-containing nanorods in solution, they also contribute to our understanding of the factors that can influence Fe-mobilization in the global environment.

A series of high-spin iron(II) β-diketonato complexes have been prepared and characterized with the intent of modeling the substrate-bound form of the enzyme acetylacetone dioxygenase (Dke1). The Dke1 active site features an Fe(II) center coordinated by three histidine residues in a facial geometry--a departure from the standard 2-histidine-1-carboxylate (2H1C) facial triad dominant among nonheme monoiron enzymes. The deprotonated β-diketone substrate binds to the Fe center in a bidentate fashion. To better understand the implications of subtle changes in coordination environment for the electronic structures of nonheme Fe active sites, synthetic models were prepared with three different supporting ligands (L(N3)): the anionic (Me2)Tp and (Ph2)Tp ligands ((R2)Tp = hydrotris(pyrazol-1-yl)borate substituted with R-groups at the 3- and 5-pyrazole positions) and the neutral (Ph)TIP ligand ((Ph)TIP = tris(2-phenylimidazol-4-yl)phosphine). The resulting [(L(N3))Fe(acac(X))](0/+) complexes (acac(X) = substituted β-diketonates) were analyzed with a combination of experimental and computational methods, namely, X-ray crystallography, cyclic voltammetry, spectroscopic techniques (UV-vis absorption and (1)H NMR), and density functional theory (DFT). X-ray diffraction results for complexes with the (Me2)Tp ligand revealed six-coordinate Fe(II) centers with a bound MeCN molecule, while structures of the (Ph2)Tp and (Ph)TIP complexes generally exhibited five-coordinate geometries. Each [(L(N3))Fe(acac(X))](0/+) complex displays two broad absorption features in the visible region that arise from Fe(II)→acac(X) charge transfer and acac(X)-based transitions, consistent with UV-vis data reported for Dke1. These absorption bands, along with the Fe redox potentials, are highly sensitive to the identity of L(N3) and substitution of the β-diketonates. By interpreting the experimental results in conjunction with DFT calculations, detailed electronic-structure descriptions of the complexes have been obtained, with implications for our understanding of the Dke1 active site.

Acetylacetone dioxygenase (Dke1) is a bacterial enzyme that catalyzes the dioxygen-dependent degradation of β-dicarbonyl compounds. The Dke1 active site contains a nonheme monoiron(II) center facially ligated by three histidine residues (the 3His triad); coordination of the substrate in a bidentate manner provides a five-coordinate site for O2 binding. Recently, we published the synthesis and characterization of a series of ferrous β-diketonato complexes that faithfully mimic the enzyme-substrate intermediate of Dke1 (Park, H.; Baus, J.S.; Lindeman, S.V.; Fiedler, A.T. Inorg. Chem. 2011, 50, 11978–11989). The 3His triad was modeled with three different facially coordinating N3 supporting ligands, and substituted β-diketonates (acacX) with varying steric and electronic properties were employed. Here, we describe the reactivity of our Dke1 models toward O2 and its surrogate nitric oxide (NO), and report the synthesis of three new Fe(II) complexes featuring the anions of dialkyl malonates. Exposure of [Fe(Me2Tp)(acacX)] complexes (where R2Tp = hydrotris(pyrazol-1-yl)borate with R-groups at the 3- and 5-positions of the pyrazole rings) to O2 at −70 °C in toluene results in irreversible formation of green chromophores (λmax ~750 nm) that decay at temperatures above −60 °C. Spectroscopic and computational analyses suggest that these intermediates contain a diiron(III) unit bridged by a trans µ-1,2-peroxo ligand. The green chromophore is not observed with analogous complexes featuring Ph2Tp and PhTIP ligands (where PhTIP = tris(2-phenylimidazoly-4-yl)phosphine), since the steric bulk of the phenyl substituents prevents formation of dinuclear species. While these complexes are largely inert toward O2, Ph2Tp-based complexes with dialkyl malonate anions exhibit dioxygenase activity and thus serve as functional Dke1 models. The Fe/acacX complexes all react readily with NO to yield highspin (S = 3/2) {FeNO}7 adducts that were characterized with crystallographic, spectroscopic, and computational methods. Collectively, the results presented here enhance our understanding of the chemical factors involved in the oxidation of aliphatic substrates by nonheme iron dioxygenases.