Ammonia Toxicity and Associated Protein Oxidation: A Single-Cell Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Study.

ABSTRACT: Ammonia (NH₃) is a commonly used industrial chemical to which exposure at high concentrations can result in severe skin damage. Moreover, high levels of ammonia in the human body can lead to hyperammonemia conditions and enhanced cancer metabolism. In this work, the toxicity mechanism of NH₃ has been studied against human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). For this purpose, gold nanoparticles of size 50 nm have been prepared and used as probes for Raman signal enhancement, after being internalized inside HDF cells. Following the exposure to ammonia, HDF cells showed a significant variation in the protein ternary structure's signals, demonstrating their denaturation and oxidation process, together with early signs of apoptos

SUBMITTER: Redolfi-Bristol D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10792663 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature