ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2020
Nearly free surface silanols are the critical molecular moieties that initiate the toxicity of silica particles.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers.
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Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 120 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Role of Cyclic Diketopiperazine in the Formation of Polypeptides on Silica Surfaces.ChemPlusChem · 2026Article
- The Combined Role of Silanols and Oxidative Stress in Determining Engineered Stone Dust Toxicity.ACS organic & inorganic Au · 2026Article
- Tools of the trade: leveraging 3DFrontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Toxicity of respirable coal dust: An overview of origin, chemistry, mechanisms, and possible remedies.International journal of coal science & technology · 2026Review
- Impact of surface functional group modification on cellular internalization and cytotoxicity of silica nanoparticles.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2025Article
- Silica Aerogels in Nano Drug Delivery Systems: A Comprehensive Review from Preparation to Medical Applications.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Application of in vitro pulmonary models for hazard screening of silica particles.Archives of toxicology · 2025Article
- Potential pulmonary toxic effects of Martian dust simulant.iScience · 2025Article
- Physico-chemical features and membranolytic activity of dust from low or no crystalline silica engineered stone with implications for toxicological assessment.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Silicon Carbide Nanowires Impair Mucociliary Clearance-Mediated Innate Immunity in Primary Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells.ACS nano · 2025Article
- Cell Death and Proliferation Variability Caused by Different Dust Clay Minerals Using the Single-Cell Method.GeoHealth · 2025Article
- Exploring agglomeration of respirable silica and other particles in coal mine dust.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- NLRP3 deficiency abrogates silica-induced neutrophil infiltration, pulmonary damage and fibrosis.Respiratory research · 2025Article
- Modulation of the thiol redox proteome by sugarcane ash-derived silica nanoparticles: insights into chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2025Article
- Association of dust exposure with anxiety and depression in the occupational population: The important role of sleep duration.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Microbially mediated silicon-based agro-wastes: a possible option in reducing bioaccumulation of arsenic.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Silicosis: from pathogenesis to therapeutics.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Article
- Short- and long-term pathologic responses to quartz are induced by nearly free silanols formed during crystal fracturing.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2024Article
- Health burden of sugarcane burning on agricultural workers and nearby communities.Inhalation toxicology · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Inhalation of silica particles can induce inflammatory lung reactions that lead to silicosis and/or lung cancer when the particles are biopersistent. This toxic activity of silica dusts is extremely variable depending on their source and preparation methods. The exact molecular moiety that explains and predicts this variable toxicity of silica remains elusive. Here, we have identified a unique subfamily of silanols as the major determinant of silica particle toxicity. This population of "nearly free silanols" (NFS) appears on the surface of quartz particles upon fracture and can be modulated by thermal treatments. Density functional theory calculations indicates that NFS locate at an intersilanol distance of 4.00 to 6.00 Å and form weak mutual interactions. Thus, NFS could act as an energetically favorable moiety at the surface of silica for establishing interactions with cell membrane components to initiate toxicity. With ad hoc prepared model quartz particles enriched or depleted in NFS, we demonstrate that NFS drive toxicity, including membranolysis, in vitro proinflammatory activity, and lung inflammation. The toxic activity of NFS is confirmed with pyrogenic and vitreous amorphous silica particles, and industrial quartz samples with noncontrolled surfaces. Our results identify the missing key molecular moieties of the silica surface that initiate interactions with cell membranes, leading to pathological outcomes. NFS may explain other important interfacial processes involving silica particles.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.