Scavenging ROS to Alleviate Acute Liver Injury by ZnO-NiO@COOH

Abstract

Currently, the incidence of acute liver injury (ALI) is increasing year by year, and infection with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can also induce ALI, but there are still no targeted therapeutic drugs. ZnO–NiO particles is mainly used to clean up reactive oxygen species (ROS) in industrial wastewater, and it is insoluble in water. Its excellent properties are discovered and improved by adding shuttle-based bonds to make it more water-soluble. ZnO-NiO@COOH particles are synthetically applied to treat ALI. The p-n junction in ZnO–NiO@COOH increases the surface area and active sites, thereby creating large numbers of oxygen vacancies, which can quickly adsorb ROS. The content in tissues and serum levels of L-glutathione (GSH) and the GSH/oxidized GSH ratio are measured to assess the capacity of ZnO–NiO@COOH particles to absorb ROS. The ZnO–NiO@COOH particles significantly reduce the expression levels of inflammatory factors (i.e., IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α), macrophage infiltration, and granulocyte activation. ZnO-NiO@COOH rapidly adsorb ROS in a short period of time to block the generation of inflammatory storms and gain time for the follow-up treatment of ALI, which has important clinical significance.