Silver Nanoparticle’s Toxicological Effects and Phytoremediation

Abstract

The advancement in nanotechnology has brought numerous benefits for humans in diverse areas including industry, medicine, and agriculture. The demand in the application of nanomaterials can result in the release of these anthropogenic materials into soil and water that can potentially harm the environment by affecting water and soil properties (e.g., soil texture, pH, organic matter, and water content), plants, animals, and subsequently human health. The properties of nanoparticles including their size, surface area, and reactivity affect their fate in the environment and can potentially result in their toxicological effects in the ecosystem and on living organisms. There is extensive research on the application of nano-based materials and the consequences of their release into the environment. However, there is little information about environmentally friendly approaches for removing nanomaterials from the environment. This article provides insight into the application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), as one of the most commonly used nanomaterials, their toxicological effects, their impacts on plants and microorganisms, and briefly reviews the possibility of remediation of these metabolites using phytotechnology approaches. This article provides invaluable information to better understand the fate of nanomaterials in the environment and strategies in removing them from the environment.

Metal/Metalloid-Based Nanomaterials for Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance: An Overview of the Mechanisms

“…The inhibitory impacts of metallic NPs are apparent through its toxicity in plants. A number of research studies on plant-NPs interaction shows that NPs have both negative and positive effects, depending on the specific properties of NPs, their concentrations, reactivity, and plant species [141][142][143][144][145]. For instance, Lin and Xing [146] showed that seed supplemented with ZnO NPs at high concentration of 2000 mg L −1 negatively affected the germination of corn and ryegrass.…”

Plant-Based Bimetallic Silver-Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles: A Comprehensive Perspective of Synthesis, Biomedical Applications, and Future Trends

“…This sort of investigation would be crucial and supportive, and we need researchers dealing with nanoparticles for consideration of this feature leading to detailed studies related to uptake kinetics, buildup, and translocation of nanoparticles within the system directed, giving new vision and understandings about the application of bimetallic nanoparticles along with their consequences and harmfulness on organisms [ 166 ]. Straight linkage of this article for researches of upcoming time is necessary as well to remember that various species are taken as hyperaccumulation of silver and zinc oxide metal; their investigation and application in phytoremediation have been discovered, and a necessary amount of writings are accessible in the literature [ 167 ]. Though the similarity is not accurate about hyperaccumulation of metallic nanoparticles in living organisms, silver-zinc oxide nanoparticles would be the main component for documentation of mechanisms responsible for tolerance in stressful conditions and harmfulness of bimetallic nanoparticles [ 168 ].…”

Green-Synthesized Silver Nanoparticle–Assisted Radiofrequency Ablation for Improved Thermal Treatment Distribution

“…Slow Ag + ion leaching is not harmful to normal cells—there are many studies available on this. On the other hand, slow Ag + ion leaching can be harmful to pathogens [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]; thus, AgNPs are useful as tissue-impedance lowering agents and as potential antimicrobial agents after radiofrequency ablation.…”