Cellular uptake, intracellular trafficking and cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles: cytotoxic, apoptotic, and necrotic effects on MCF-7 cells

“…It is well known that ROS are highly reactive and cause oxidative harm to DNA and cell enzymes (Turrens, 2003;Boonstra and Post, 2004). Generation of excessive intracellular ROS leads to apoptosis and necrosis Hackenberg et al, 2011), evidenced by the fact that an increase in ROS levels is correlated with massive DNA breakage and high levels of apoptosis and necrosis (Foldbjerg et al, 2009;Singh and Ramarao, 2012). However, the cytotoxic effects may be partially due to direct action of Ag + ions released from AgNPs.…”

Toxic effects of silver nanoparticles in mammals – does a risk of neurotoxicity exist?

“…It is also claimed that all observed AgNP-mediated toxic effects are a consequence of silver ions released from the surface of nanoparticles inside cells through the "Trojan Horse effect" [48,100,126]. Moreover, it is considered that smaller AgNPs are able to release silver ions from their surfaces more efficiently than larger ones, because of the larger surface area per unit mass [48].…”

“…Notably, it was shown that the intracellular solubility of AgNPs is 50 times greater than their solubility in pure water [126].…”

“…This chemical process creates a pro-oxidant environment which interferes with mitochondrial functions and may lead to overproduction of ROS and mitochondrial damage [126]. A deleterious influence of silver on mitochondrial functions has been observed in vitro in rat liver cells [60], human liver cells [106,130] and human colon cancer cells [118].…”

Effects of silver nanoparticles of different sizes on cytotoxicity and oxygen metabolism disorders in both reproductive and respiratory system cells

“…The participation of reactive oxygen species in the mechanism of nanosilver activity is indicated by the results of the in vivo and in vitro studies (Wijnhoven et al 2009, Marambio-Jones andHoek 2010). According to numerous reports, the overproduction of free radicals, which leads to oxidative stress, is caused by ions being released from silver nanoparticles, including by a Trojan horse -type mechanism (Carlson et al 2008, Manke et al 2013, Singh and Ramaro 2012. On the other hand, some studies demonstrated that AgNPs toxicity is primarily the result of oxidative damage and is independent of the toxicity of Ag+ ions (Kim et al 2009.…”