scholarly journals Synergistic effects of engineered nanoparticles and organics released from laser printers using nano-enabled toners: potential health implications from exposures to the emitted organic aerosol

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 2144-2156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Cecile G. Chalbot ◽  
Sandra V. Pirela ◽  
Laura Schifman ◽  
Varun Kasaraneni ◽  
Vinka Oyanedel-Craver ◽  
...  

Engineered nanomaterials released from nano-enabled toners result in formation of high molecular weight PAHs.

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 4390-4398 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. F. T. van Hijum ◽  
G. H. van Geel-Schutten ◽  
H. Rahaoui ◽  
M. J. E. C. van der Maarel ◽  
L. Dijkhuizen

ABSTRACT Fructosyltransferase (FTF) enzymes produce fructose polymers (fructans) from sucrose. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of an FTF-encoding gene from Lactobacillus reuteri strain 121. A C-terminally truncated version of the ftf gene was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli. When incubated with sucrose, the purified recombinant FTF enzyme produced large amounts of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) with β-(2→1)-linked fructosyl units, plus a high-molecular-weight fructan polymer (>107) with β-(2→1) linkages (an inulin). FOS, but not inulin, was found in supernatants of L. reuteri strain 121 cultures grown on medium containing sucrose. Bacterial inulin production has been reported for only Streptococcus mutans strains. FOS production has been reported for a few bacterial strains. This paper reports the first-time isolation and molecular characterization of (i) a Lactobacillus ftf gene, (ii) an inulosucrase associated with a generally regarded as safe bacterium, (iii) an FTF enzyme synthesizing both a high molecular weight inulin and FOS, and (iv) an FTF protein containing a cell wall-anchoring LPXTG motif. The biological relevance and potential health benefits of an inulosucrase associated with an L. reuteri strain remain to be established.


Antioxidants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oracz ◽  
Zyzelewicz

Melanoidins from real foods and model systems have received considerable interest due to potential health benefits. However, due to the complexity of these compounds, to date, the exact structure of melanoidins and mechanism involved in their biological activity has not been fully elucidated. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the total phenolic content, antioxidant properties, and structural characteristics of high-molecular weight (HMW) melanoidin fractions isolated by dialysis (>12.4 kDa) from raw and roasted cocoa beans of Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario beans cultivated in various area. In vitro antioxidant properties of all studied HMW cocoa fractions were evaluated by four different assays, namely free radical scavenging activity against DPPH● and ABTS●+ radicals, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and metal-chelating ability. Additionally, the structure–activity relationship of isolated HMW melanoidin fractions were analyzed using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The results show that roasting at a temperature of 150 °C and a relative air humidity of 0.3% effectively enhances the total phenolics content and the antioxidant potential of almost all HMW cocoa melanoidin fractions. The ATR-FTIR analysis revealed that the various mechanisms of action of HMW melanoidins isolates of different types of cocoa beans related to their structural diversity. Consequently, the results clearly demonstrated that HMW cocoa fractions isolated from cocoa beans (especially those of Criollo variety) roasted at higher temperatures with the lower relative humidity of air possess high antioxidant properties in vitro.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (22) ◽  
pp. 32157-32183 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Y. Lee ◽  
M. D. Willis ◽  
R. M. Healy ◽  
J. M. Wang ◽  
C.-H. Jeong ◽  
...  

Abstract. Biomass burning is a major source of black carbon (BC) and primary organic aerosol globally. In particular, biomass burning organic aerosol (BBOA) is strongly associated with atmospheric brown carbon (BrC) that absorbs near ultraviolet and visible light, resulting in significant impacts on regional visibility degradation and radiative forcing. The mixing state of BBOA can play a critical role in the prediction of aerosol optical properties. In this work, single particle measurements from a soot-particle aerosol mass spectrometer coupled with a light scattering module (LS-SP-AMS) were performed to examine the mixing state of BBOA, refractory black carbon (rBC) and potassium (K+, a tracer for biomass burning aerosol) in an air mass influenced by aged biomass burning. Cluster analysis of single particle measurements identified five BBOA-related particle types. rBC accounted for 3–14 w.t. % of these particle types on average. Only one particle type exhibited a strong ion signal for K+, with mass spectra characterized by low molecular weight organic species. The remaining four particle types were classified based on the apparent molecular weight of the BBOA constituents. Two particle types were associated with low potassium content and significant amounts of high molecular weight (HMW) organic compounds. Our observations indicate non-uniform mixing of particles within a biomass burning plume in terms of molecular weight and illustrate that HMW BBOA can be a key contributor to low-volatility BrC observed in BBOA particles.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (14) ◽  
pp. 5107-5117 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. El Haddad ◽  
L. Nieto-Gligorovski ◽  
V. Michaud ◽  
B. Temime-Roussel ◽  
E. Quivet ◽  
...  

Abstract. The fate of methacrolein in cloud evapo-condensation cycles was experimentally investigated. To this end, aqueous-phase reactions of methacrolein with OH radicals were performed (as described in Liu et al., 2009), and the obtained solutions were then nebulized and dried into a mixing chamber. ESI-MS and ESI-MS/MS analyses of the aqueous phase composition denoted the formation of high molecular weight multifunctional products containing hydroxyl, carbonyl and carboxylic acid moieties. The time profiles of these products suggest that their formation can imply radical pathways. These high molecular weight organic products are certainly responsible for the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) observed during the nebulization experiments. The size, number and mass concentration of these particles increased significantly with the reaction time: after 22 h of reaction, the aerosol mass concentration was about three orders of magnitude higher than the initial aerosol quantity. The evaluated SOA yield ranged from 2 to 12%. These yields were confirmed by another estimation method based on the hygroscopic and volatility properties of the obtained SOA measured and reported by Michaud et al. (2009). These results provide, for the first time to our knowledge, strong experimental evidence that cloud processes can act, through photooxidation reactions, as important contributors to secondary organic aerosol formation in the troposphere.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 4201-4218 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kristensen ◽  
T. Cui ◽  
H. Zhang ◽  
A. Gold ◽  
M. Glasius ◽  
...  

Abstract. The formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from both ozonolysis and hydroxyl radical (OH)-initiated oxidation of α-pinene under conditions of high nitric oxide (NO) concentrations with varying relative humidity (RH) and aerosol acidity was investigated in the University of North Carolina dual outdoor smog chamber facility. SOA formation from ozonolysis of α-pinene was enhanced relative to that from OH-initiated oxidation in the presence of initially high-NO conditions. However, no effect of RH on SOA mass was evident. Ozone (O3)-initiated oxidation of α-pinene in the presence of ammonium sulfate (AS) seed coated with organic aerosol from OH-initiated oxidation of α-pinene showed reduced nucleation compared to ozonolysis in the presence of pure AS seed aerosol. The chemical composition of α-pinene SOA was investigated by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-HR-Q-TOFMS), with a focus on the formation of carboxylic acids and high-molecular weight dimers. A total of eight carboxylic acids and four dimers were identified, constituting between 8 and 12% of the total α-pinene SOA mass. OH-initiated oxidation of α-pinene in the presence of nitrogen oxides (NOx) resulted in the formation of highly oxidized carboxylic acids, such as 3-methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid (MBTCA) and diaterpenylic acid acetate (DTAA). The formation of dimers was observed only in SOA produced from the ozonolysis of α-pinene in the absence of NOx, with increased concentrations by a factor of two at higher RH (50–90%) relative to lower RH (30–50%). The increased formation of dimers correlates with an observed increase in new particle formation at higher RH due to nucleation. Increased aerosol acidity was found to have a negligible effect on the formation of the dimers. SOA mass yield did not influence the chemical composition of SOA formed from α-pinene ozonolysis with respect to carboxylic acids and dimers. The results support the formation of the high-molecular weight dimers through gas-phase reactions of the stabilized Criegee Intermediate (sCI) formed from the ozonolysis of α-pinene. The high molecular weight and polar nature of dimers formed in the gas phase may explain increased particle number concentration as a result of homogenous nucleation. Since three of these dimers (i.e. pinyl-diaterpenyl dimer (MW 358), pinyl-diaterebyl dimer (MW 344) and pinonyl-pinyl dimer (MW 368)) have been observed in both laboratory-generated and ambient fine organic aerosol samples, we conclude that the dimers observed in this study can be used as tracers for the O3-initiated oxidation of α-pinene, and are therefore indicative of enhanced anthropogenic activities, and that the high molecular weight and low volatility dimers result in homogenous nucleation under laboratory conditions, increasing the particle number concentration.


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