Biocompatible Silver Nanoparticles: Study of the Chemical and Molecular Structure, and the Ability to Interact with Cadmium and Arsenic in Water and Biological Properties

Abstract

In the field of research for designing and preparing innovative nanostructured systems, these systems are able to reveal the presence of heavy metals in water samples, and can efficiently and selectively interact with them, allowing for future applications in the field of water remediation. We investigated the electronic and molecular structure, as well as the morphology, of silver nanoparticles stabilized by mixed biocompatible ligands (the amino acid L-cysteine and the organic molecule citrate) in the presence of cadmium and arsenic ions. The molecular, electronic, and local structure at the ligands/silver nanoparticles interface was probed by the complementary synchrotron radiation-induced techniques (SR-XPS, NEXAFS and XAS). The optical absorption (in the UV-Vis range) of the nanosystem was investigated in the presence of Cd(II) and As(III) and the observed behavior suggested a selective interaction with cadmium. In addition, the toxicological profile of the innovative nanosystem was assessed in vitro using a human epithelial cell line HEK293T. We analyzed the viability of the cells treated with silver nanoparticles, as well as the activation of antioxidant response.

An Alkanethiol-Surfactant Bilayer To Prevent Shape Conversion of Anisotropic Silver Nanoparticles and Probe Their Formation Mechanisms

“…Overall, adding this stabilization solution had no significant impact on the plasmonic spectrum of silver nanoplates, which means that their nanostructure remains preserved at all concentrations following the immediate addition of the stabilization solution. Still, a minor wavelength shift of the main plasmonic band is observed and displayed in Figure C (green diamonds), a general feature of thiol adsorption on metallic nanoparticles . Strikingly, the wavelength first increases (red-shift) and then decreases (blue-shift) upon increasing the thiol concentration.…”

“…Still, a minor wavelength shift of the main plasmonic band is observed and displayed in Figure 2 C (green diamonds), a general feature of thiol adsorption on metallic nanoparticles. 18 Strikingly, the wavelength first increases (red-shift) and then decreases (blue-shift) upon increasing the thiol concentration. Interestingly, this nonmonotonic behavior is also observed when plotting the long-term change of transmittance as also shown in Figure 2 C (blue dots).…”

Capping drives the behavior, dissolution and (eco)toxicity of silver nanoparticles towards microorganisms and mammalian cells

“…To this aim, two types of AgNPs, one functionalized with citrate and L-cysteine (AgNPcitLcys) and the other one with sodium-3-mercapto-1propanesulfonate (AgNP3MPS), both developed as sensors for metal ions (i.e., mercury and nickel) in water media, were fully characterized in different exposure media and tested. [24][25][26][27] Unicellular microorganisms, such as Gramnegative bacteria Escherichia coli, freshwater microalgae Raphidocelis subcapitata and marine microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum and mammalian cells (HeLa, L929), were selected for investigating the mechanism of (eco) toxicity along with transformation occurring in exposure media and bio-nano-interactions.…”

“…, mercury and nickel) in water media, were fully characterized in different exposure media and tested. 24–27 Unicellular microorganisms, such as Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli , freshwater microalgae Raphidocelis subcapitata and marine microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum and mammalian cells (HeLa, L929), were selected for investigating the mechanism of (eco)toxicity along with transformation occurring in exposure media and bio–nano-interactions.…”

Selective detection of tartaric acid using amino acid interlinked silver nanoparticles as a colorimetric probe

“…It was also found that the thiol group containing amino acid could easily modify the surface sites of the NPs. [22][23][24] The objective of the present investigation is to establish a corona complex using AgNPs with a suitable biomolecule for selective determination of bioactive compounds. To progress this work, the AgNPs have been synthesized with different amino acids, including cysteine (Cys), glutamine (Glu), glutathione (GSH), glycine (Gly), leucine (Leu), methionine (Meth), tyrosine (Tyr), and valine (Val), to form amino acid coronas, which were then exposed to other organic acids, such as citric acid, succinic acid and tartaric acid.…”