Figure 1

Nanocatalysis by CNM-Au8 enhances cellular bioenergetics. (a) Changes in absorbance peaks of NADH (339 nm) and NAD⁺ (259 nm) demonstrate the conversion of NADH to NAD⁺ with time in the presence of 6.6 μg/mL CNM-Au8. Shown is an overlay of UV-Vis spectra taken at approximately 1 min intervals; total elapsed time of more than 60 minutes. Starting concentration of NADH at t = 0 was 0.08 mM. (b) Dose-dependent catalytic activity of CNM-Au8 (6.6 μg/mL black squares, 12.4 μg/mL red circles, 23.4 μg/mL green triangles, 46.8 μg/mL blue triangles) on the oxidation of NADH as measured by change in absorbance of NADH over time. (c) Catalytic activity of CNM-Au8 compared to two NIST standards, NIST 10 nm (orange) and NIST 30 nm (red), using the same starting concentrations: 3.4 μg/mL Au added to 26 μM NADH in 5.7 mM NaHCO₃. No gold control (black) shows stability of 26 μM NADH during the same time frame. (d) Initial rates of catalysis for CNM-Au8, NIST 10 nm, and NIST 30 nm, calculated from curves shown in B. (e) Effect of CNM-Au8 treatment on NAD⁺ levels, expressed as percent change over vehicle, in primary mesencephalic cultures compared to vehicle (grey), or BDNF control. (f) Extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) of purified murine OLs in response to CNM-Au8 in the first three minutes following glucose challenge as measured in the Seahorse flux analyser, expressed as percent change over vehicle. (g) Extracellular lactate levels in media of primary rat mesencephalic cultures after 48 h treatment with CNM-Au8, expressed as percent change over vehicle. (h) Total, mitochondrial, and glycolytic intracellular ATP levels from human OL M03.13 cells treated with vehicle (grey) or CNM-Au8 (green). (d–g) One-way ANOVA, corrected for multiple comparisons. (h)Two-way ANOVA. Quantities shown are group means +/− SEM. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ****p < 0.0001.