Synthesis and Characterization of Modified Carbon Nanotubes and Nanoparticles

AP-MWCNTs were purchased from Cheap Tubes. COOH-MWCNTs were synthesized by oxidizing AP-MWCNTs in mixed acids.^{4 (link)} Min-U-Sil silica (quartz) was purchased from US Silica (Frederick, MD, USA). Mesoporous silica was generously provided by Dr. Jeffrey Zink, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA. La₂O₃, Gd₂O₃, Sm₂O₃, Yb₂O₃ nanoparticles were purchased from Nanostructured & Amorphous Materials (Houston, TX, USA). TiO₂ and Bi₂O₃ were provided by Dr. Lutz Madler at the Department of Production Engineering, University of Bremen, Germany. CQ, Sypro Ruby, Pro-Q-Diamond, LAMP-1 antibody and pHrodo were purchased from Life Technologies (Grand Island, NY, USA). 4-Methylumbelliferyl-beta-d-galactopyranoside, 3-methyladenine and Rapa were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). Anti-LC-3 was purchased from Abcam (Cambridge, MA, USA). Anti-mTOR, anticathepsin D and anti-ASC antibodies were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Dallas, Texas, USA). Recombinant human β-galactosidase was purchased from R&D (Minneapolis, MN, USA). The phosphopeptide, LPSSPVpYEDAASFK, was purchased from Apeptide (Shanghai, China). NLRP3^–/– or ASC^–/– THP-1 cells are prepared from THP-1 cells that transfected with NLRP3 or ASC shRNA.