Silver nanoparticles: Behaviour and effects in the aquatic environment

Fabrega, Julia; Luoma, Samuel N.; Tyler, Charles R.; Galloway, Tamara S.; Lead, Jamie R.

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2010.10.012

Cited by 1,061 publications

(696 citation statements)

References 138 publications

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“…For example, a recent study by George et al showed that Ag nanoplate had less cellular uptake by cells than spherical nAg particles. 20 In agreement with this finding, we observed greater inhibitory effect on R-globin and β-globin expression for nAg in spherical shape (i.e., 10,25,40, and 110 nm spherical nAg particles), compared to nAg in plate shape ( Figure S1, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the size of nAg is also a crucial determinant for its bioavailability, and nAg particles with smaller size often revealed greater uptake by cells than those with larger size.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

Silver Nanoparticles Induced RNA Polymerase-Silver Binding and RNA Transcription Inhibition in Erythroid Progenitor Cells

et al. 2013

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Due to its antimicrobial activity, nanosilver (nAg) has become the most widely used nanomaterial. Thus far, the mechanisms responsible for nAg-induced antimicrobial properties and nAg-mediated toxicity to organisms have not been clearly recognized. Silver (Ag) ions certainly play a crucial role, and the form of nanoparticles can change the dissolution rate, bioavailability, biodistribution, and cellular uptake of Ag. However, whether nAg exerts direct "particle-specific" effects has been under debate. Here we demonstrated that nAg exhibited a robust inhibition on RNA polymerase activity and overall RNA transcription through direct Ag binding to RNA polymerase, which is separated from the cytotoxicity pathway induced by Ag ions. nAg treatment in vitro resulted in reduced hemoglobin concentration in erythroid cells; in vivo administration of nAg in mice caused profound reduction of hemoglobin content in embryonic erythrocytes, associated with anemia in the embryos.Embryonic anemia and general proliferation deficit due to the significant inhibition on RNA synthesis, at least partially, accounted for embryonic developmental retardation upon nAg administration. To date, there is no conclusive answer to the sources of nAg-mediated toxicity: Ag ions or "particlespecific" effects, or both. We here demonstrated that both Ag ions and nAg particles simultaneously existed inside cells, demonstrating the "Trojan horse" effects of nAg particles in posing biological impacts on erythroid cells. Moreover, our results suggested that "particle-specific" effects could be the predominant mediator in eliciting biological influences on erythroid cells under relatively low concentrations of nAg exposure. The combined data highlighted the inhibitory effect of nAg on RNA polymerase activity through a direct reciprocal interaction.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

Silver Nanoparticles Induced RNA Polymerase-Silver Binding and RNA Transcription Inhibition in Erythroid Progenitor Cells

et al. 2013

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“…The dissolution process can involve reaction of the surface molecules and ultimate release of the ionic form [21] or direct dissolution of the constituent materials, followed by a diffusional transport of the dissolved compounds [25]. Precipitation (process 4b) refers to the formation of a new solid material after the dissolution and transport of ionic species and reaction or deposition of these dissolved species with the available ligands or suspended material that are present in natural waters [26,27]. These two processes are regulated by the solubility product (K sp ), which determines the equilibrium among the ionic species in the solution.…”

Section: Nanoparticle Releasementioning

confidence: 99%

Potential scenarios for nanomaterial release and subsequent alteration in the environment

Nowack¹,

Ranville²,

Diamond³

et al. 2011

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

524

353

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Abstract-The risks associated with exposure to engineered nanomaterials (ENM) will be determined in part by the processes that control their environmental fate and transformation. These processes act not only on ENM that might be released directly into the environment, but more importantly also on ENM in consumer products and those that have been released from the product. The environmental fate and transformation are likely to differ significantly for each of these cases. The ENM released from actual direct use or from nanomaterial-containing products are much more relevant for ecotoxicological studies and risk assessment than pristine ENM. Released ENM may have a greater or lesser environmental impact than the starting materials, depending on the transformation reactions and the material. Almost nothing is known about the environmental behavior and the effects of released and transformed ENM, although these are the materials that are actually present in the environment. Further research is needed to determine whether the release and transformation processes result in a similar or more diverse set of ENM and ultimately how this affects environmental behavior. This article addresses these questions, using four hypothetical case studies that cover a wide range of ENM, their direct use or product applications, and their likely fate in the environment. Furthermore, a more definitive classification scheme for ENM should be adopted that reflects their surface condition, which is a result of both industrial and environmental processes acting on the ENM. The authors conclude that it is not possible to assess the risks associated with the use of ENM by investigating only the pristine form of the ENM, without considering alterations and transformation processes. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012;31:50-59. # 2011 SETAC

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“…Nanoparticles in the environment can form by natural processes or be released due to human activities 1 . Owing to limited analytical methods, the behaviour of nanoparticles in the natural environment is poorly understood and until now they have only been described by the variations in the nanoparticle size or the concentration of the element of interest.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, recent studies reveal that AgNPs can also form naturally via the reduction of Ag + in natural waters mediated by dissolved organic matter (DOM) 7,8 and sunlight 9 , which implies that the level of AgNPs in the environment may be underestimated. There is evidence that AgNPs are potentially harmful for organisms and human health 1 and that AgNP loading can significantly influence important ecosystem processes 10,11 . However, little is known about the natural processes and fate of AgNPs due to the lack of proper methods to detect or trace AgNPs in environmental media.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable silver isotope fractionation in the natural transformation process of silver nanoparticles

et al. 2016

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Nanoparticles in the environment can form by natural processes or be released due to human activities 1 . Owing to limited analytical methods, the behaviour of nanoparticles in the natural environment is poorly understood and until now they have only been described by the variations in the nanoparticle size or the concentration of the element of interest. Here we show that by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to measure silver (Ag) isotope ratios it is possible to understand the transformation processes of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in the environment. We found that the formation and dissolution of AgNPs under natural conditions caused significant variations in the ratio of natural Ag isotopes ( 107 Ag and 109 Ag) with an isotopic enrichment factor (ε) up to 0.86‰. Furthermore, we show that engineered AgNPs have distinctly different isotope fractionation effects to their naturally formed counterparts. Further studies will be needed to understand whether isotope analysis can be used to reveal the sources of AgNPs in the environment.AgNPs are the most widely used nanomaterial due to their broad spectrum in antimicrobial activities 2 . An exponential increase in the environmental levels of AgNPs is predicted due to their rising usage and disposal levels 3,4 . As the natural abundance of Ag in the Earth's crust is extremely low (∼0.07 mg kg -1 ; ref. 5), the release of even a small mass of Ag to the environment from anthropogenic activities may lead to proportionally large deviations from natural conditions 6 . AgNPs present in the environment are normally thought to originate from human activities. However, recent studies reveal that AgNPs can also form naturally via the reduction of Ag + in natural waters mediated by dissolved organic matter (DOM) 7,8 and sunlight 9 , which implies that the level of AgNPs in the environment may be underestimated. There is evidence that AgNPs are potentially harmful for organisms and human health 1 and that AgNP loading can significantly influence important ecosystem processes 10,11 . However, little is known about the natural processes and fate of AgNPs due to the lack of proper methods to detect or trace AgNPs in environmental media.Here, we studied the variations in the stable Ag isotope ratio in the natural transformation process of AgNPs. Ag isotopes have previously been applied as chronometers for early-stage planetary differentiation 12,13 and as tracers in archaeometry 14,15 , whereas other applications are rare in the literature. Naturally occurring Ag is composed of 107 Ag and 109 Ag with approximately equal natural abundances (51.8% versus 48.2%) and subtle variations in 107 Ag/ 109 Ag ratio were observed in various terrestrial samples 16,17 . We hypothesized that variations in the natural stable isotope ratio may provide a new means to study the environmental processes of NPs. To test this hypothesis, we studied two reversible processes of AgNPs in natural waters (Fig. 1): the formation of AgNPs via the reduction of Ag + in the presence of DOM and the...

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Silver nanoparticles: Behaviour and effects in the aquatic environment

Cited by 1,061 publications

References 138 publications

Silver Nanoparticles Induced RNA Polymerase-Silver Binding and RNA Transcription Inhibition in Erythroid Progenitor Cells

Silver Nanoparticles Induced RNA Polymerase-Silver Binding and RNA Transcription Inhibition in Erythroid Progenitor Cells

Potential scenarios for nanomaterial release and subsequent alteration in the environment

Stable silver isotope fractionation in the natural transformation process of silver nanoparticles

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