In this initial study, the toxicity effect of silver NPs against a model unicellular eukaryotic organism of Paramecium caudatum was studied. For the purpose of this study, a dialysis-based method was adapted, which allowed the preparation of stable aqueous dispersions of silver NPs in various silver concentrations that were necessary for the evaluation of toxicity limits of these particles. The obtained results demonstrate that the silver NPs do not exhibit any toxicity action against the tested unicellular eukaryotic organism below the concentration of 25 mg • L -1 whereas ionic silver retains its toxicity even at a concentration of 0.4 mg • L -1 . Such a considerable difference in the toxicity effect of these two forms of silver has not been observed in the previously published study concerning bacteria (

The use of nanoscaled materials is rapidly increasing, however, their possible ecotoxicological effects are still not precisely known. This work constitutes the first complex study focused on in vivo evaluation of the acute and chronic toxic effects and toxic limits of silver nanoparticles (NPs) on the eukaryotic organism Drosophila melanogaster. For the purpose of this study, silver NPs were prepared in the form of solid dispersion using microencapsulation method, where mannitol was used as an encapsulation agent. This newly prepared solid dispersion with a high concentration of silver NPs was exploited to prepare the standard Drosophila culture medium at a silver concentration range from 10 mg·L(-1) to 100 mg·L(-1) of Ag in the case of the acute toxicity testing and at a concentration equal to 5 mg·L(-1) in the case of the chronic toxicity testing. The acute toxic effect of silver NPs on Drosophila melanogaster was observed for the silver concentration equal to 20 mg·L(-1). At this silver concentration, 50% of the tested flies were unable to leave the pupae, and they did not finish their developmental cycle. Chronic toxicity of silver NPs was assessed by a long-term exposure of overall eight filial generations of Drosophila melanogaster to silver NPs. The long-term exposure to silver NPs influenced the fertility of Drosophila during the first three filial generations, nevertheless the fecundity of flies in subsequent generations consequently increased up to the level of the flies from the control sample due to the adaptability of flies to the silver NPs exposure.

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