Analysis of Physicochemical Transformation (Istiḥālah) Issues in Halal Industry according to Shari'ah Perspective

The process of istiḥālah is applied widely in multiple halal industries. However, Muslim jurist have different opinions about the ruling of istiḥālah process. Hence, this paper purports to look into the perspective of Shari'ah about some contemporary istiḥālah issues in the halal industry and its application in Malaysia. Qualitative methodology was adopted by collecting and analyzing the opinions of Islamic jurists relating to the process of istiḥālah and issues related. The study finds that the opinions by Muslim jurists regarding an istiḥālah process that is applied holistically and scientifically can significantly impact the halal status of a product being studied. Keywords: Istiḥālah; Halal Industry; Halal Issues eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2021 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6iSI6.3037

The Role of Apoptosis Pathway in the Cytotoxicity Induced by Fresh and Aged Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are used in a wide range of applications including industry, commercial products and medicine field. Numerous mechanistic studies for ZnO NPs’ toxicity were performed on pristine (fresh) NPs. However, the cytotoxicity induced by the transformed (aged) ZnO NPs and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we observed the physicochemical transformation of ZnO NPs underwent over time, followed by evaluating the cytotoxicity of fresh and aged NPs. We found that fresh ZnO NPs induced higher apoptosis level than their aged counterparts. Accordingly, RNA sequencing data from aged ZnO NP-treated human–hamster hybrid (AL) cells showed that p53, PI3k–Akt, FoXO, Glutathione, ErbB, HIF-1, Oxytocin and Jak-STAT signaling pathways were enriched but no apoptosis pathway. Quantitative PCR results revealed the significantly higher mRNA level of IL1B and CD69 in fresh NP-treated groups compared to that of aged ZnO NP- and zinc chloride-treated groups. The above results indicated that the lower cytotoxicity of aged ZnO NPs is partially attributed to their reduced potency in inducing apoptosis. The transcriptional regulation of multiple signal pathways activated by aged NPs may help to build the cellular homeostasis. Taken together, our findings highlight the influence of aging (environmental transformation) process of ZnO NPs on their toxicities and biological consequences.

Stability and dissolution of silver nanoparticles in sediment-laden water: Influence of suspended sediment and associated dissolved organic matter

<p>The released silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) will inevitably interact with suspended sediment (SS), because of the ubiquity and abundance of SS in aquatic systems. However, the effect mechanism of SS on the transformation of AgNPs remains unknown and unpredictable. This research investigated the effect of SS on the aggregation, settling, and dissolution of polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated (PVP) AgNPs under environmentally diverse salinity conditions. By determining the morphology of AgNP–SS heteroaggregates and using the DLVO analysis, we revealed that the heteroaggregation between AgNPs and SS was dependent on ionic strength. The formation of AgNP-SS heteroaggregates eventually lead to the rapid settling of AgNPs. Besides, the interactions of sediment-associated dissolved organic matter (SS-DOM) with AgNPs interfered the dissolution of AgNPs under different NaCl concentrations.<strong> </strong>The fate (i.e., aggregation, dissolution and settling) of AgNP in sediment-laden water has been found to be strongly dependent on the presence of SS, SS-DOM and ionic strength. This work provides novel insight into the interaction between suspended particulate matter and AgNPs as well as its effect on AgNP physicochemical transformation in aquatic environment.</p>

Aged Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Did Not Induce Cytotoxicity Through Apoptosis Signaling Pathway as Fresh NPs

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are being used in a wide range of applications including industry, commercial products and medicine field. Numerous mechanistic studies for ZnO NPs’ toxicity are performed on pristine (fresh) NPs. However, the cytotoxicity induced by the transformed (aged) ZnO NPs and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we firstly confirmed the physicochemical transformation of ZnO NPs underwent over time and compared the cytotoxicity induced by fresh and aged NPs. Then, we found that fresh NPs induced higher apoptosis levelthan aged NPs. Accordingly, RNA sequencing data from aged ZnO NP-treated human-hamster hybrid (AL) cells showed that p53, PI3k-Akt, FoXO, Glutathione, ErbB, HIF-1, Oxytocin and Jak-STAT signaling pathway were enriched but no apoptosis pathway. Quantitative PCR results confirmed the significantly higher mRNA level of IL1B and CD69 in fresh NP-treated groups compared to that of aged ZnO NP- and zinc chloride-treated groups. Our data indicated that the lower cytotoxicity of aged ZnO NPs is closely related to the low level of apoptosis induced by it and that the transcriptional regulation of the multiple pathways activated by aged NPs helps to build the cellular homeostasis. Our results highlight the aging (environmental transformation) process to the toxicity and safety assessment of ZnO NPs.

Subcellular Targets of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles During the Aging Process: Role of Cross-talk Between Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in the Genotoxic Response

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are being produced abundantly and applied increasingly in various fields. The special physicochemical characteristics of ZnO NPs make them incline to undergo physicochemical transformation over time (aging), which modify their bioavailability and toxicity. However, the subcellular targets and the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in the genotoxicity induced by ZnO NPs during aging process are still unknown. This study found that the acute cytotoxic effects of fresh ZnO NPs was largely regulated by mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, which the level of cleaved Caspase-3 and mitochondria damage were significantly higher than that of 60-day-aged ZnO NPs. In contrast, aged ZnO NPs induced more reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress marker protein (BIP/GRP78) expression and their genotoxicity could be dramatically suppressed by either ROS scavengers (dimethyl sulfoxide, catalase, and sodium azide) or ER stress inhibitor (4-phenylbutyrate). Using mitochondrial-DNA deficient (ρ0) AL cells, we further found that ER stress induced by aged ZnO NPs was triggered by ROS generated from mitochondria, which eventually mediated the genotoxicity of aged NPs. Our data provided novel information on better understanding the contribution of subcellular targets to the genotoxic response of ZnO NPs during the aging process.

Physicochemical transformation of ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles in sea water and its impact on bacterial toxicity

Background: The enormous properties of metal oxide nanoparticles make it possible to use these nanoparticles in a wide range of products. As their usage and application continue to expand, environmental health concerns have been raised. In order to understand the behavior and effect of metal oxide nanoparticles in the environment, comprehensive and comparable physicochemical and toxicological data on the environmental matrix are required. However, the behavior and effect of nanoparticles in the real environmental matrix, e.g. sea water, are still unknown. Methods: In this study, the effects of zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) nanoparticles on the bacteria (gram positive-Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus/gram-negative Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) in sea water were investigated. Furthermore, to better understand the behavior of the toxicity, surface chemistry, sedimentation, dissolution, particle size, and zeta potential of the nanoparticles dispersed in the sea water matrices were investigated using Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), ultraviolet–visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometry, graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (GFAAS), and dynamic light scattering (DLS), respectively. Results: The environmental matrix had a significant influence on physicochemical behavior of the tested nanoparticles. Besides, the inhibition of tested bacteria was observed against ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles in the presence of sea water, while there was no inhibition in the controlled condition. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that surface chemistry with exposure to the sea water can have a significant role on the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles and their toxicity.