Surface Charge-Dependent Toxicity of Silver Nanoparticles

As a result of the extensive number of applications of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), their potential impacts, once released into the environment, are of concern. The toxicity of AgNPs was reported to be dependent on various factors such as particle size, shape and capping agent. Although these facto...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2011-01, Vol.45 (1), p.283-287
Main Authors: El Badawy, Amro M, Silva, Rendahandi G, Morris, Brian, Scheckel, Kirk G, Suidan, Makram T, Tolaymat, Thabet M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacillus - drug effects
Bacteria
Environmental Pollutants - chemistry
Environmental Pollutants - isolation & purification
Environmental Pollutants - toxicity
Environmental Processes
Environmental science
Membrane filters
Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry
Metal Nanoparticles - toxicity
Metal Nanoparticles - ultrastructure
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Nanoparticles
Particle Size
Silver
Silver - chemistry
Silver - isolation & purification
Silver - toxicity
Structure-Activity Relationship
Surface Properties
Suspensions
Toxicity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:As a result of the extensive number of applications of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), their potential impacts, once released into the environment, are of concern. The toxicity of AgNPs was reported to be dependent on various factors such as particle size, shape and capping agent. Although these factors may play a role in AgNPs toxicity, the results presented herein suggest that surface charge is one of the most important factors that govern the toxicity of AgNPs. In the current study, the toxicity of four AgNPs representing various surface charging scenarios ranging from highly negative to highly positive was investigated. These AgNPs were (1) uncoated H2−AgNPs, (2) citrate coated AgNPs (Citrate-AgNPs), (3) polyvinylpyrrolidone coated AgNPs (PVP-AgNPs), and (4) branched polyethyleneimine coated AgNPs (BPEI-AgNPs). Our results clearly demonstrate that the AgNPs exhibited surface charge-dependent toxicity on the bacillus species investigated. Furthermore, ultrafiltration membranes were utilized to purify the AgNPs suspensions from residual impurities prior to the introduction to the microbes. This step was crucial in determining the true AgNPs toxicity and is either missing or not explicitly mentioned in most of the reported toxicity studies.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es1034188