Chiral ZnO Nanoparticles Synergistically Inhibiting Fibrillization and Disaggregating of Amyloid-β Fibrils for Attenuation Neurotoxicity

doi:10.1007/s40242-026-5293-z

Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (2): 493-503.doi: 10.1007/s40242-026-5293-z

Previous Articles Next Articles

Chiral ZnO Nanoparticles Synergistically Inhibiting Fibrillization and Disaggregating of Amyloid-β Fibrils for Attenuation Neurotoxicity

HE Yaojing^1,2, ZHAO Xiaoyu³, HAN Yurong³, WU Lie³, WANG Hongda^1,2, JIANG Xiue^1,2,3

1. Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China;
2. School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, P. R. China;
3. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Research Center for Analytical Science, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China

Received:2025-12-16 Online:2026-04-01 Published:2026-04-02
Contact: JIANG Xiue,E-mail:jiangxiue@ciac.ac.cn;WU Lie,E-mail:liewu@nankai.edu.cn;WANG Hongda,E-mail:hdwang@ciac.ac.cn E-mail:jiangxiue@ciac.ac.cn;liewu@nankai.edu.cn;hdwang@ciac.ac.cn
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2022YFE0113000), the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, China (No. 22025406), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22374083, 22204162), the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin, China (Nos. 24JCZDJC01320, 24JCYBJC01810), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (Nos. 020-63253153, 020-63251185).

Abstract

Abstract: Amyloid aggregations are closely associated with various neurodegenerative diseases, and Amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition is recognized as the core in pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Several approaches targeting of Aβ have been developed that focus on the inhibition of Aβ aggregation or elimination of Aβ fibril. Chirality is intrinsic to life and plays important role in biological processes. Chiral effect provides a pioneering strategy for therapeutic applications. In this study, small size chiral zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) with excellent dispersibility and stability were synthesized, and exhibited chirality-dependent inhibition of fibrillization and disaggregation of Aβ fibrils. Cellular experiments revealed that chiral ZnO NPs can effectively alleviate Aβ-induced cytotoxicity and protect neuronal cells. These findings demonstrate that chiral ZnO NPs hold substantial potential for anti-amyloidosis and underscore the promising of chiral nanomaterials in biomedical field.

Key words: Amyloid-β, Alzheimer’s disease, Chiral ZnO nanoparticle (NP)

HE Yaojing, ZHAO Xiaoyu, HAN Yurong, WU Lie, WANG Hongda, JIANG Xiue. Chiral ZnO Nanoparticles Synergistically Inhibiting Fibrillization and Disaggregating of Amyloid-β Fibrils for Attenuation Neurotoxicity[J]. Chemical Research in Chinese Universities, 2026, 42(2): 493-503.

References

[1] Aebersold R., Mann M., Nature, 2003, 422, 198.
[2] Cheng C., Zhang L., Chang X., Chen K., He T., Shi J., Lv F., Pan L., Wu Y., Cheng Q., Ren D., Guo Y., Zhang W., Wang H., Shi T., Li J., Ni X., Wu Y., Jin Y., Wu Z., Nat. Commun., 2025, 16, 7715.
[3] Li F., Hu B., Zhang L., Liu Y., Wang J., Wu C., Wu S., Zhang Y., Yang X., Lu H., iScience, 2025, 28, 111657.
[4] Wang B., Xie Z., Ding C.-F., Deng C., Yan Y., Trac-Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 2023, 158, 116881.
[5] Song J., Shen Y., Wu Z., Huang L., Deng Y., Yu W., Wang X., Zhang X., J. Proteome Res., 2025, 24, 1356.
[6] Zhou D., Wei C., Wang Y., Zuo H., Wang Y., Tang R., Deng N., Ou J., Zhu Z., Bian Y., Talanta, 2025, 298, 128876.
[7] Low T. Y., Mohtar M. A., Lee P. Y., Omar N., Zhou H. J., Ye M. L., Mass Spectro. Rev., 2021, 40, 309.
[8] Muneer G., Chen C. S., Chen Y. J., Proteomics, 2024, 25, e202400087.
[9] Chen C. W., Tsai C. F., Lin M. H., Lin S. Y., Hsu C. C., Anal. Chem., 2023, 95, 12232.
[10] Muneer G., Chen C. S., Lee T. T., Chen B. Y., Chen Y. J., J. Proteome Res., 2024, 23, 3294.
[11] Johnson K. R., Greguš M., Ivanov A. R., J. Proteome Res., 2022, 21, 2453.
[12] Duan X., Zhang Y., Huang X., Ma X., Gao H., Wang Y., Xiao Z., Huang C., Wang Z., Li B., Yang W., Wang Y., Molecular Plant, 2023, 17, 199.
[13] Xia Z., Lin Y., Sun J., Wang Y., Hu X., Deng C., Microchim. Acta, 2025, 192, 840.
[14] Liu X., Dong M., Yao Y., Wang Y., Mao J., Hu L., Yao L., Ye M., Anal. Chem., 2022, 94, 4155.
[15] Jiao F., Gao F., Liu Y., Fan Z., Xiang X., Xia C., Lv Y., Xie Y., Bai H., Zhang W., Qin W., Qian X., Talanta, 2021, 223, 121776.
[16] Jiang D., Li Y., Wu S., Lan L., Liu J., Microchim. Acta, 2025, 192, 251.
[17] Meng L., Wang B., Wang B., Feng Q., Zhang S., Xiong Z., Zhang S., Cai T., Ding C., Yan Y., Analyst, 2023, 148, 4738.
[18] Wang F., Veth T., Kuipers M., Altelaar M., Stecker K. E., Anal. Chem., 2023, 95, 9471.
[19] Kitata R. B., Choong W.-K., Tsai C.-F., Lin P.-Y., Chen B.-S., Chang Y.-C., Nesvizhskii A. I., Sung T.-Y., Chen Y.-J., Nat. Commun., 2021, 12, 2539.
[20] Muneer G., Gebreyesus S. T., Chen C.-S., Lee T.-T., Yu F., Lin C.-A., Hsieh M.-S., Nesvizhskii A.I., Ho C.-C., Yu S.-L., Tu H.-L., Chen Y.-J., Adv. Sci., 2025, 12, 2402421.
[21] Tsai C., Wang Y., Hsu C., Kitata R. B., Chu R. K., Velickovic M., Zhao R., Williams S. M., Chrisler W. B., Jorgensen M. L., Moore R. J., Zhu Y., Rodland K. D., Smith R. D., Wasserfall C. H., Shi T., Liu T., Commun. Biology, 2023, 6, 70.
[22] Wang D., Huang J., Zhang H., Gu T., Li L., ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2023, 15, 47893.
[23] Huang J. F., Dong J., Shi X. D., Chen Z. W., Cui Y. S., Liu X. Y., Ye M. L., Li L. J., Anal. Chem., 2019, 91, 11589.
[24] Wu C., Lei J., Meng F., Wang X., Wong C. J., Peng J., Lin G., Gingras A.-C., Ma J., Zhang S., Anal. Chem., 2023, 95, 17981.
[25] Yan G.-R., Yin X., Xiao C., Tan Z., Xu S., He Q., J. Proteomics, 2011, 75, 695.
[26] Wen Y., Chen H., Wang Y., Sun Y., Dou F., Du X., Liu T., Chen C., Hereditas, 2024, 161, 3.
[27] Rega C., Tsitsa I., Roumeliotis T. I., Krystkowiak I., Portillo M., Yu L., Vorhauser J., Pines J., Mansfeld J., Choudhary J., Davey N. E., Nat. Commun., 2025, 16, 2579.
[28] Sharma K., D'Souza R. C. J., Tyanova S., Schaab C., Wisniewski J. R., Cox J., Mann M., Cell Reports, 2014, 8, 1583.
[29] Skowronek P., Thielert M., Voytik E., Tanzer M. C., Hansen F. M., Willems S., Karayel O., Brunner A.-D., Meier F., Mann M., Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, 2022, 21, 100279.
[30] Bekker-Jensen D. B., Bernhardt O. M., Hogrebe A., Martinez-Val A., Verbeke L., Gandhi T., Kelstrup C. D., Reiter L., Olsen J. V., Nat. Commun., 2020, 11, 787.
[31] Hornbeck P. V., Zhang B., Murray B., Kornhauser J. M., Latham V., Skrzypek E., Nucleic Acids Research, 2015, 43, D512.
[32] Crooks G. E., Hon G., Chandonia J. M., Brenner S. E., Genome Research, 2004, 14, 1188.
[33] Chen P., Chen X., Song X., He A., Zheng Y., Li X., Tian R., Chem. Sci., 2024, 15, 14806.
[34] Chen S., Potuganti G. R., Ji X., Hecht S. M., Chembiochem, 2026, 27, e202500710.
[35] Yang Y., Batista M., Clarke B. R., Agyare-Tabbi M. R., Song H., Kuehfuss N. M., Le Bas A., Robinson C. V., Whitfield C., Stansfeld P. J., Naismith J.H., Liu J., Nat. Commun., 2025, 16, 3437.
[36] Ma J., Chen T., Wu S., Yang C., Bai M., Shu K., Li K., Zhang G., Jin Z., He F., Hermjakob H., Zhu Y., Nucleic Acids Research, 2019, 47, D1211.
[37] Chen T., Ma J., Liu Y., Chen Z., Xiao N., Lu Y., Fu Y., Yang C., Li M., Wu S., Wang X., Li D., He F., Hermjakob H., Zhu Y., Nucleic Acids Research, 2022, 50, D1522.

Chiral ZnO Nanoparticles Synergistically Inhibiting Fibrillization and Disaggregating of Amyloid-β Fibrils for Attenuation Neurotoxicity

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References

Related Articles 1

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments