Fullerene has been investigated for use in intratracheal instillation and inhalation. However, its use may be compromised due to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from a long-term stored water-soluble fullerene system, which will result in pulmonary injury. In this study, we investigated the ability of different concentrations of silk fibroin (SF) to scavenge hydroxyl radicals (OH˙) produced by a water-soluble fullerene system. In addition, we elaborated the mechanism of OH˙ formation and scavenging, the degradation of water-soluble fullerene (WSF), and the effects of OH˙ and WSF on the viability of endothelial cells (ECs). WSF was found to rapidly degrade when incubated with SF at 4 °C, which suggested that OH˙ and the deposition of WSF over 5 half-lives might be reduced by mixing WSF with SF. Moreover, it was observed that OH˙ and WSF could generate adverse effects on EC viability, and OH˙ produced by the WSF system on day 55 could be scavenged by SF. Overall, this study indicated that SF as an antioxidant was capable of scavenging OH˙ and accelerating the degradation of WSF, which provides further insight into the application of WSF in intratracheal instillation and inhalation.

中文翻译：

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丝素蛋白清除了长期储存的水溶性富勒烯体系产生的羟基自由基

已经研究了富勒烯用于气管内滴注和吸入。但是，由于长期储存的水溶性富勒烯系统会形成活性氧（ROS），可能会损害其使用，从而导致肺部损伤。在这项研究中，我们研究了不同浓度的丝素蛋白（SF）清除水溶性富勒烯系统产生的羟基自由基（OH˙）的能力。此外，我们详细阐述了OH˙的形成和清除机理，水溶性富勒烯（WSF）的降解以及OH˙和WSF对内皮细胞（ECs）活力的影响。当在4°C下与SF一起孵育时，发现WSF迅速降解，这表明通过将WSF与SF混合可以降低OH和WSF在5个半衰期内的沉积。而且，观察到OH +和WSF可能对EC的生存能力产生不利影响，并且SF可以清除WSF系统在第55天产生的OH +。总体而言，这项研究表明，SF作为抗氧化剂能够清除OH˙和促进WSF的降解，从而为WSF在气管内滴注和吸入中的应用提供了进一步的见识。