S. aureus is an important human pathogen associated with numerous skin diseases including chronic-wound infections. S. aureus produces a wide range of virulence factors including hemotoxins, pore forming toxins, and superantigens (e.g. toxic shock syndrome toxin-1, Staphylococcal enterotoxin). The impact of biofilm formation on S. aureus virulence is controversial. In one study, virulence factor gene expression in S. aureus cells within a biofilm was shown to be downregulated when compared to planktonic S. aureus cultures [2]. Another study showed that biofilm formation had no effect on the virulence of S. aureus [9], while several studies highlight the

necessity of regulatory Selleck C59 wnt elements associated with biofilm formation on the regulation of virulence [10, AZD1480 11]. Human keratinocytes (HKs) are the

most abundant cell type in the epidermis and are essential for wound healing. HKs are constantly exposed to bacterial stimuli and function in innate immunity through the formation of a physical barrier to the external environment and the recognition of conserved pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Examples of PAMPs include the bacterial cell wall components peptidoglycan and lipoteichoic acid, bacterial DNA, flagella, and other conserved structures [12]. PAMPs are recognized by cell surface receptors called toll like receptors (TLRs) which are found on a variety of cell types including professional immune cells, endothelial cells, and cells of the epidermis. HKs express functional TLRs making them the first line of defense against bacteria in the skin [13]. HK activation induced by TLRs in response to bacterial stimuli is mediated in part by mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK; specifically JNK, p38, and ERK) cascades resulting in the production of inflammatory cytokines [14–16]. MAPKs are major components regulating the pathology of chronic

inflammation, diabetes mellitus, Cyclooxygenase (COX) and other chronic diseases [17, 18]. The highly orchestrated production of inflammatory cytokines by HKs is an important initial step in a normal immune response. Derangement of cytokine production by bacterial infection can lead to chronic inflammatory conditions [19]. In this study, we investigated the transcriptional response of HKs exposed to S. aureus biofilm conditioned medium (BCM) and planktonic conditioned medium (PCM) to reveal genes associated with pathogenesis. We correlated microarray data with data from enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISA) and enzyme inhibition assays, to delineate a biofilm specific response associated with inflammation in HKs and formulate a hypothesis for biofilm-induced click here pathogenesis in chronic wounds. Results Proteomic analysis of BCM and PCM A preliminary proteomic analysis of BCM and PCM revealed differential protein compositions.

In the first system (visual assay of stained cells), 2 × 107 cells of wild type and mp65Δ mutant strains were incubated with 105 BEC, and the adherence was expressed as the number of yeast cells adhering to 100 epithelial cells ± standard error. The mp65Δ mutant showed significantly reduced adherence to BEC (Figures 5 A and 5B), whereas the www.selleckchem.com/products/lxh254.html revertant strain partially regained the ability to adhere to BEC, reaching a level similar to that of the wild type (C. albicans cells/BEC mean ± S.E.; wild type: 35 ± 2.0 vs. mp65Δ

mutant: 10 ± 1.5 vs. revertant: 25 ± 1.0; P < 0.05). In the second system, the number of C. albicans cells adhering to the surface and those remaining in the supernatant were analyzed in a time-dependent manner (Figure 5C). Adhesion of the wild type cells to Caco-2 cells

was rapid and efficient: after 30 min, about 65% of the Microbiology inhibitor cells recovered had adhered to the Caco-2 cell monolayers, whereas only 35% were recovered from the supernatant. After 60 min the percentage of adhering cells increased to 75%, whereas the percentage of cells in the supernatant decreased to 25%. The mp65Δ mutant cells showed significantly reduced adhesion to the Caco-2 cells: after 30 and 60 min, the percentage of adhering cells was AICAR solubility dmso 38% and 43% respectively, whereas the percentage of non-adhering cells was 62% and 57% respectively. In the revertant cells, the efficiency and kinetics of adhesion were similar to those in the wild type. Figure 5 Adhesion analysis of the mp65Δ mutant. (A) Adhesion of the mp65Δ mutant to BEC. Buspirone HCl Representative fields randomly selected showing the interaction between yeast cells [wild type (wt), mp65Δ mutant (hom) and revertant (rev) strains] and BEC after 1 h of incubation at 37°C. The magnification bar corresponds to 100 μm. See the Methods section for more details. (B) Adhesion assay data. Histograms showing the adherence of the wild type (wt: black column),

mp65Δ mutant (hom: grey column) and revertant (rev: white column) strains to BEC. The bars indicate the standard errors. Significant differences from wild type adhesion (P < 0.05) are indicated by asterisks. (C) Adhesion of the mp65Δ mutant to Caco-2 cell monolayers. Recovery of Candida cells [wild type (wt: black column), mp65Δ mutant (hom: grey column) and revertant (rev: white column) strains] at different time points (30 and 60 min) of incubation with Caco-2 cells. Adherent cells recovered after thorough washing out of the microplate (Panel 1). Non-adherent cells recovered from the supernatant (Panel 2). The results are the mean of 3 independent experiments. The bars indicate the standard deviations. To determine the effects of the absence of the MP65 gene on biofilm formation, we performed two quantitative in vitro assays (dry weight and XTT), which characterize total and living biomass, respectively.

CrossRefPubMed 32. Alaniz RC, Deatherage BL, Lara JC, Cookson BT: Membrane vesicles are immunogenic facsimiles of Salmonella typhimurium that potently this website activate dendritic cells, prime B and T cell responses, and stimulate protective immunity in vivo. J Immunol 2007,179(11):7692–7701.PubMed 33. Ricci V, Chiozzi V, Necchi V, Oldani A, Romano M, Solcia E, Ventura U: Free-soluble and outer membrane vesicle-associated VacA from Helicobacter pylori : Two forms of release, a different activity. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2005,337(1):173–178.CrossRefPubMed 34. Black RE, Levine MM, Clements ML, Hughes TP, Blaser MJ: Experimental Campylobacter jejuni infection

in humans. J Infect Dis 1988,157(3):472–479.PubMed 35. Korlath JA, Osterholm MT, Judy LA, Forfang JC, Robinson RA: A point-source outbreak of campylobacteriosis associated with consumption of raw milk. J Infect Dis 1985,152(3):592–596.PubMed 36. Laemmli UK: Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature 1970,227(5259):680–685.CrossRefPubMed 37. Bolla JM, De E, Dorez A, Pages JM: Purification, characterization and sequence analysis of Omp50, a new porin isolated from Campylobacter jejuni. Biochem J 2000,352(Pt 3):637–643.CrossRefPubMed 38. Lipinska B, Zylicz M, Georgopoulos C: The HtrA (DegP) protein,

essential for Escherichia coli survival at high temperatures, is an endopeptidase. J Bacteriol 1990,172(4):1791–1797.PubMed 39. Johansson J, Balsalobre CA4P chemical structure C, Wang SY, Urbonaviciene J, Jin DJ, Sonden B, Uhlin BE: Nucleoid proteins stimulate stringently controlled bacterial promoters: a link between the cAMP-CRP and the (p)ppGpp regulons in Escherichia coli. Cell 2000,102(4):475–485.CrossRefPubMed 40. Hitchcock PJ, Brown TM: Morphological heterogeneity among Salmonella lipopolysaccharide chemotypes in silver-stained polyacrylamide http://www.selleck.co.jp/products/Decitabine.html gels. J Bacteriol 1983,154(1):269–277.PubMed 41. Heukeshoven J, Dernick R: Improved silver staining procedure for fast staining in PhastSystem Development Unit. I. Staining of sodium dodecyl sulfate

gels. Electrophoresis 1988,9(1):28–32.CrossRefPubMed 42. Garduno RA, Faulkner G, click here Trevors MA, Vats N, Hoffman PS: Immunolocalization of Hsp60 in Legionella pneumophila. J Bacteriol 1998,180(3):505–513.PubMed 43. Bergonzelli GE, Granato D, Pridmore RD, Marvin-Guy LF, Donnicola D, Corthesy-Theulaz IE: GroEL of Lactobacillus johnsonii La1 (NCC 533) is cell surface associated: potential role in interactions with the host and the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori. Infect Immun 2006,74(1):425–434.CrossRefPubMed 44. Scorza FB, Doro F, Rodriguez-Ortega MJ, Stella M, Liberatori S, Taddei AR, Serino L, Gomes Moriel D, Nesta B, Fontana MR, et al.: Proteomics characterization of outer membrane vesicles from the extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli DeltatolR IHE3034 mutant. Mol Cell Proteomics 2008,7(3):473–485. 45.

Only the BUD/FM and BUD treatment arms, which were common to all four studies, are presented; PLX3397 solubility dmso these studies were not originally powered for comparison of asthma events. Table I Study treatments and entry criteria[5–8] Table II Predefined criteria for asthma events[5–8] Table III Patient demographic and baseline clinical characteristics[5–8] a,b PF-6463922 Statistical methods for this analysis are similar to those described previously.[5–8] Comparisons among treatment groups

of percentages of patients who experienced ≥1 predefined asthma event and of percentages of patients who withdrew because of such an event were performed by χ2 test (study I) or Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test with adjustment for treatment (studies III and IV) and ICS dose (medium or high; studies II, III, and IV) at study entry. Results Baseline demographics were

similar across studies (table II). As expected, patients with mild to moderate asthma had better pulmonary function than those with moderate to severe asthma. The percentage of patients with moderate to severe asthma who experienced see more ≥1 asthma event was lower in the BUD/FM groups versus the BUD group, with statistically significant differences observed in study II (p < 0.05) [figure 1]. In all studies, the most commonly met predefined criterion was night-time awakening. The predefined criterion of clinical exacerbation included the following subcategories that were not mutually exclusive: study I (BUD/FM: one patient [one emergency department (ED) visit, one event of disallowed asthma medication use], BUD: three patients else [one ED visit, three events of disallowed asthma medication use]); study II (BUD/FM: seven patients [three ED visits, seven events of disallowed asthma medication use], BUD: five patients [one ED visit, four events of disallowed asthma medication use]); study III (BUD/FM: three patients [two events of disallowed asthma medication use, one event of nebulized bronchodilator use, three events

of oral corticosteroid use], BUD: three patients [one ED visit, three events of disallowed asthma medication use, one event of nebulized bronchodilator use, and three events of oral corticosteroid use]); study IV (BUD/FM: seven patients [two ED visits, two hospitalizations — one due to multiple significant/active comorbidities and one due to viral infection, seven events of disallowed asthma medication use], BUD: two patients [two events of disallowed medication use]). Fig. 1 Percentages of patients with ≥1 predefined asthma event (overall and individual events) and withdrawals due to predefined asthma event in (a) study I (predominantly White patients with mild to moderate asthma), (b) study II (predominantly White patients with moderate to severe asthma), (c) study III (Black patients), and (d) study IV (Hispanic patients).

Discussion We have characterized two different phenotypes of host cell and intracellular bacterial pathogen behavior in relation to host cell iron metabolism and bacterial iron requirements. Francisella drives an

active iron acquisition program through the transferrin receptor TfR1 with a sustained increase in the host cell labile iron pool. Since Francisella depends on expression of TfR1 for intracellular BIIB057 survival, it might need an increased host cell iron level for its own metabolism and might be able to efficiently counteract increased production of host cell reactive redox species. Salmonella, on the other hand, does not require TfR1 for growth inside its host cell, lacks a strong learn more induction of gene products aimed at facilitating

iron import via TfR1, and negotiates a decreased iron level in the host cell. This might be explained by Salmonella’s intracellular localization within an endosomal structure or perhaps PI3K inhibitor by more efficient iron acquisition strategies. The distinction of these two phenotypes will allow further characterization and understanding of eukaryotic iron metabolism and its modulation by intracellular bacteria. Francisella enters macrophages inside an early endosome, from which it later escapes into the cell cytosol [13]. We have provided corroborating evidence that entry occurs in an early endosome with recruitment of TfR1 and Rab5, but no acquisition of Rab7, which is a prerequisite for further maturation in the phagolysosomal trafficking pathway. In this study we have demonstrated a very early co-localization

of TfR1 and Francisella at the cell surface. This suggests that TfR1 is recruited during the entry process rather than by successive fusion of Francisella-containing vesicles with TfR1-carrying endosomes. Such a process differs from M. tuberculosis-containing vesicles, which recruit TfR through endosome fusions during infection of the host cell [11]. Increased expression of the transferrin receptor has been shown previously during infection with Ehrlichia, Chlamydia, Histamine H2 receptor and Coxiella, while reduced or unaltered expression was observed during infection with Salmonella and Legionella [28, 47] as a means of host defense by restricting the iron available for the invading pathogen. In fact, decreased expression of TfR1 in a patient due to a chronic inflammatory condition (with increased IFN-γ production) proved non-permissive for infection with Legionella [48]. Infection with Ehrlichia chafeensis and E. sennetsu changes the binding affinities for IRP-1 during the first hours of infection with a concomitant increase in levels of transferrin receptor. This is followed by a response at the transcriptional level of transferrin receptor mRNA at 24 h of infection [10].

0% non-fat dry

milk) for 1 hour followed by incubation with secondary anti-rabbit IgG conjugated with Alexa546. Samples were also stained with 0.1 μg / mL 4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride (DAPI, from Sigma) at room temperature for 5 min before confocal microscopy. Parasite membrane fractionation and western blot analyses Aproximately 109 epimastigotes growing at a cell density of 2 × 107 parasites/mL were harvest, washed with NU7441 purchase saline buffer (PBS) and ressuspended in lysis buffer (Hepes 20mM; KCl 10 mM; MgCl2 1,5 mM; sacarose 250 mM; DTT 1 mM; PMSF 0,1 mM). After LY294002 order lysing cells with five cycles of freezing in liquid nitrogen and thawing at 37°C, an aliquot corresponding to total protein (T) extract was collected. Total cell lysate was centrifuged at a low speed (2,000 × g) for 10 min and the supernatant was subjected to ultracentrifugation (100,000 × g) for one hour. The resulting supernatant was collected and analysed as soluble, cytoplasmic fraction (C) whereas the pellet, corresponding to the membrane fraction (M) was ressuspended in lysis buffer. Volumes corresponding to 10 μg of total parasite protein extract (T), cytoplasmic (C) and membrane check details (M) fractions, mixed with Laemmli’s sample buffer, were loaded onto a 12% SDS–PAGE gel, transferred to Hybond-ECL membranes (GE HealthCare), blocked with 5.0% non-fat dry

milk and incubated with anti-GFP antibody (Santa Cruz Biotechnology) or anti-PEPCK antibody, followed by incubation with peroxidase conjugated anti-rabbit IgG and the ECL Plus reagent (GE HealthCare). Acknowledgements This study was supported by funds from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Brazil), Fundação de Amparo a pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG, Brazil)

and the Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Vacinas (INCTV, Brazil). DCB, RAM and SMRT are recipients of CNPq fellowships; The work of WDDR, MMKM and LL is supported by Fundação Araucária, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES), PPSUS/MS and CNPq. Electronic supplementary material Additional file 1: Comparative new sequence analysis of T. cruzi amastins. (Figure S1A) Percentages of amino acid identities among all T. cruzi amastin sequences present in the CL Brener and Sylvio X-10 genome databases. (Figure S1B) Conserved amino acid residues and conserved domains among sequences corresponding to all amastin genes present in the T. cruzi CL Brener genome are represented using the WebLogo software. The x axis depicts the amino acid position. The taller the letter the lesser the variability at the site. Predicted transmembrane domains are underlined. (PDF 433 KB) Additional file 2: Amino acid sequences of delta- and beta-amastins.

However, numerous investigations typically involving highly trained endurance MI-503 cost athletes running or cycling after periods of significant fasting have provided evidence supporting enhanced performance and mood or lowered perceived exertion during exercise lasting ~1 h with CE ingestion or mouth PHA-848125 clinical trial rinse, without confirmation of the mechanisms responsible for these changes. The aims of this study were to determine if similar ergogenic properties would be exhibited in non-fasted recreational exercisers. The results of this study support our first hypothesis that CE consumption during 50 min of sub-maximal exercise would not result

in improved WAnT performance compared to NCE or W (Figure 1). Ball et al. [5] found carbohydrate ingestion during 50 min of high intensity cycling resulted in 6.5% higher mean power and 5.8% higher peak power during a subsequent WAnT versus ingesting an artificially-sweetened placebo. The similarity in protocols makes comparing the results between the current and Ball et al. [5] studies favorable with 3 factors taken into consideration. The first is that the 50 min sub-maximal

exercise intensity was prescribed at a more moderate intensity level that could be completed by our highly active but non-competitive level recreational exercisers. It is possible that our contrasting finding of no impact of carbohydrate consumption on performance was due to the lower relative intensity level of the sub-maximal exercise portion CHIR-99021 supplier of our protocol, which resulted in 15 beats per min lower mean HR than was exhibited for the participants in the Ball et al. [5] study. However, Loperamide mean sub-maximal exercise RPEs in the Ball et al. [5] study were only 5.0 ± 1.0 (carbohydrate trial) and 5.6 ± 1.1(placebo trial), and our participants reported the overall difficulty of the trials was higher than their normal workouts (Table 3). A second difference in our methodology and

that of Ball et al. [5] was that our protocol incorporated 3 sets of WAnT versus a single WAnT to assess performance. The primary rationale for incorporating WAnT as a performance measure was that variability in pacing strategies for our recreational exercisers would make it difficult to interpret more aerobically-based time trial tests that have been most commonly used to assess performance differences in the past. However, repeated WAnT have been established to be a stable measure, particularly if a practice session is provided [33] and allowed for direct comparison to the results of the Ball et al. [5] study. The additional two WAnT were used to ensure fatigue late in exercise, as we anticipated our sub-maximal exercise bout would be comparatively less intense based on average heart rate than that of Ball et al. [5].

Figure 7 selleck screening library absorption spectrum for large systems. (Color Online) Absorption

coefficient for x (black curves), y (red curves), and z (blue lines) polarizations for (a) a nanodisk with 5,016 atoms, (b) a single-pentagon nanocone composed of 5,005 atoms, and (c) a two-pentagon nanocone with 5,002 atoms. The photon energies are given in units of . Concerning the different polarization directions, one should notice that, as occurs in C 6v symmetric systems, α z =0 and α x =α y for the nanodisk. On the other hand, the absorption coefficients for the different cones studied (single and two pentagons) are finite for parallel polarization, and it depends on the structure details: as α z increases for a two-pentagon CNC structure, α x,y

decreases. Due to the lack of π/2-rotation symmetry, one should expect, in principle, selleckchem different results for x- and y-polarizations for any nanocone. However, such difference is observable just for the absorption coefficient of the two-pentagon CNC system, mainly in the range of low photon energies. The fact that α x =α y , for the case of one-pentagon CNC structure, may be explained using similar symmetry arguments applied to C 6v symmetry dots [24], extended to the C 5v symmetric cones. In the case of a two-pentagon CNC, the apex exhibits a C 2v symmetry, preventing CB-839 in vitro the cone to be a C 4v symmetric system. As the apex plays a minor role, α x and α y will be slightly different. A large difference between the α z and the α x,y CNC absorption spectra occurs in the limit of low radiation energy. The α z coefficient goes to zero as whereas α x,y shows oscillatory features. The behavior of the absorption for parallel polarization is due to the localization of the electronic states at the atomic sites around the cone border. Cyclin-dependent kinase 3 As the spatial distribution

of those states are restricted to a narrow extension along the z coordinate, the z degree of freedom is frozen for low excitation energies. The dependence of the absorption spectra on the geometrical details of the different structures is more noticeable for finite-size nanostructures. This can be seen in Figure 8 which depicts the absorption coefficients for the CND composed of 258 atoms, the single-pentagon CNC with 245 atoms, and the two-pentagon CNC with 246 atoms. The degeneracy of the x- and y-polarization spectra is apparent for the smaller one-pentagon nanocone, as expected due to symmetry issues. On the other hand, the symmetry reduction for the two-pentagon structure leads to a rich absorption spectra, exhibiting peaks at different energies and with comparable weights for distinct polarizations. In that sense, absorption experiments may be an alternative route to distinguish between different nanocone geometries. Figure 8 Absorption spectrum for small systems.

30). The Delegation of Indonesia concluded that “the tendency of the present use of the term originated in a colonial context, in which the ruling majority of colonialists had to be differentiated from the so-called CH5183284 nmr original people living on the land before the colonialists came.” The Indonesian delegation proposed instead to use terms such as “traditional community” or “traditional society” or “society or community bound by customary law” (WIPO 2005, pp. 26–27). In spite of such reservations, Southeast Asian

countries voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. Statements of government representatives explaining the vote remained somewhat ambiguous, however (Antons 2009c). The Indonesian representative Selleck LY2835219 proceeded on the basis of the definition used in the International Labour Organization Convention No. 107 concerning the Protection and Integration of Indigenous, and other Tribal Evofosfamide and Semi-tribal

populations in Independent Countries of 1957 “according to which indigenous people were distinct from tribal people. Given the fact that Indonesia’s entire population at the time of colonization remained unchanged, the rights in the declaration accorded exclusively to indigenous people and did not apply in the context of Indonesia” (UN General Assembly 2007, p. 13). The revival of customary law in community

based environmental governance related to traditional knowledge The problems with the identification of beneficiaries mentioned above equally put into question the easy applicability of customary law, another tool considered for community oriented, “bottom up” approaches to environmental governance (Ørebech et al. 2005). This revival of customary laws in many countries has come with decentralisation, a central pillar for many years of the ‘good governance’ mantra of the World Bank, donors, aid agencies and NGOs (von Benda-Beckmann and von Benda-Beckmann 2007). Attention has been paid to it during the drafting of new constitutions in the wake of the democratisation movement of the last few years. The development Fenbendazole in Indonesia has been the most dramatic in the region and the country has moved from a centralised structure focused on Jakarta to a decentralised one, where considerable decision making and tax collecting powers have been transferred to what is collectively called “regional government”, consisting of provinces, regencies and municipalities (Article 18 of the Indonesian Constitution of 1945). The “indigenous and local communities” as holders of traditional knowledge under the CBD are recognised in Indonesia as “customary law communities”.

On the other end, the GNP exfoliation against a BOPP surface resulted in massive formation of scrolled structures. This different behavior is ascribed to the presence of friction which is more effective in the latter case. In fact, the roughness of BOPP is 4.20 Å [12, 13], comparable

to the graphite interlayer spacing (3.354 Å), thus leading to enhanced mechanical grip between the two sliding surfaces. Results and discussion The role of shear-stress Saracatinib forces in the treatment of graphite by ball-milling technology has been previously suggested as an explanation for the occasional formation of nanoscrolls [14]. However, a very limited amount of low-quality CNS results at the end of the graphite grinding process. On the

other hand, to the best of our knowledge, we are the first to achieve a massive production of well-formed CNSs by applying a combination of shear stress and friction forces to a GNP sample in a very simple technique that does not require the use of any special apparatus. In particular, an alcoholic (ethanol, 99.9%, Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) dispersion of GNP was prepared, according to our previously developed experimental procedure [15, 16]. This dispersion was slowly rubbed on the surface of a BOPP film (with a thickness of 40 μm, Manucor S.p.A., Sessa Aurunca, PF299 purchase Italy) using a LDPE piece. The suspension was allowed to dry during the rubbing process. After

drying, the concentrated liquid suspension was removed from the BOPP film by pouring ethanol on it. The resulting black suspension contained a large amount of nanoscrolls. Nanoscrolls can be separated from the unrolled and/or partially rolled graphene-based GSK3326595 material by sedimentation in ethanol since their Stokes coefficient value is significantly higher than that for graphene sheets. The nanofibrous structure of the BOPP film surface can be conveniently imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM; see Figure  1a) [17]. As visible, the BOPP surface Clomifene is made of nanosized polypropylene fibers that provide the resistant friction force inducing the separation of the graphite nanocrystal edges, thus causing a rolling-up process under the concomitant action of the applied shear stress. Figure 1 AFM image of the BOPP film nanoporous surface (a) and SEM micrograph of the GNP precursor (b). The typical morphology of a GNP sample used as a precursor in the CNS fabrication process is shown in Figure  1b. As visible, the starting carbon material contained only flat graphite nanoplatelets with sharp edges. The GNP unities have two main dimensions of a few microns and are characterized by an average thickness of 20 nm. After the simultaneous application of shear and friction forces, the material morphology resulted to be significantly modified.