Fig. 11

Mitochondrial membrane potential measured by flow cytometry using the JC-1 assay. a Dot plots of JC-1 aggregates (red fluorescence) and monomers (green fluorescence) in Caco-2 monocultured and Caco-2/HT29-MTX cocultured cells of the unstained, untreated, and positive control (PC; 100 µM CCCP). b Relative mitochondrial membrane potential (proportion of monomers and aggregates) of Caco-2 monocultured (white bars) and Caco-2/HT29-MTX cocultured cells (black bars) after 24 h of treatment with digested ZnO NP (< 50 nm and < 100 nm) and ZnCl₂ (614 µM). SC: solvent control (10% intestinal juice). Data are normalized to the untreated control (= 100%; dashed line) and expressed as mean + SD; n = 3. Significant differences compared to the untreated control (**P ≤ 0.01; ***P ≤ 0.001) were obtained by using the unpaired t test