Center for Biomaterials and Biopathways, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
PLoS One. 2010 Apr 1;5(4):e9963. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009963.
The reduced concentration of stratospheric ozone results in an increased flux of biologically damaging mid-ultraviolet radiation (UVB, 280 to 320 nm) reaching earth surfaces. Environmentally relevant levels of UVB negatively impact various natural populations of marine organisms, which is ascribed to suppressed embryonic development by increased radiation.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Inspired by strategies in the living systems generated by evolution, we induce an extra UVB-adsorbed coat on the chorion (eggshell surrounding embryo) of zebrafish, during the blastula period. Short and long UV exposure experiments show that the artificial mineral-shell reduces the UV radiation effectively and the enclosed embryos become more robust. In contrast, the uncoated embryos cannot survive under the enhanced UVB condition.
We suggest that an engineered shell of functional materials onto biological units can be developed as a strategy to shield lives to counteract negative changes of global environment, or to provide extra protection for the living units in biological research.
平流层臭氧浓度降低导致更多具有生物破坏性的中紫外线（UVB，280 至 320nm）到达地球表面。环境相关水平的 UVB 对各种海洋生物的自然种群产生负面影响，这归因于辐射增加导致胚胎发育受阻。
方法/主要发现：受进化过程中产生的生命系统策略的启发，我们在斑马鱼的囊胚期在卵壳（胚胎周围的蛋壳）上诱导额外的吸收 UVB 的外壳。短期和长期 UV 暴露实验表明，这种人工矿物壳可以有效地减少紫外线辐射，并且封闭的胚胎变得更健壮。相比之下，未涂覆的胚胎在增强的 UVB 条件下无法存活。
我们建议将功能材料的工程外壳应用于生物单元可以作为一种策略来保护生命，以应对全球环境的负面变化，或为生物研究中的生物单元提供额外的保护。
