Transfer Study of Silver Nanoparticles in Poultry Production

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are of interest due to their antimicrobial activity and are seen as potential candidates to replace antibiotics in animal husbandry. A few studies have focused on this new application, but they lack any considerations about residual accumulation of AgNPs in edible animal tissues and animal products. In this research, a 22 day in vivo study was carried out by oral administration of 20 nm spherical PVP coated AgNPs to hens. Six doses of approximately 1 mg kg of AgNPs-PVP each were administered to animals throughout the experimentation. Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) was used for quantitative determination of residual total Ag in different organs and matrices. The analyses showed that Ag accumulates in livers (concentration ranging from 141 μg kg to 269 μg kg) and yolks (concentration ranging from 20 μg kg to 49 μg kg) but not in muscles, kidneys, and albumen belonging to hens of the treated group (tG2). Ag was not detected in animals of the control group (uG1) (i.e., total Ag < LOD = 10 μg kg). Single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray detection (SEM-EDX) were employed to elucidate the presence of AgNPs in livers and yolks belonging to tG2 animals. spICP-MS highlighted that part of residual Ag found in livers (about 5-20%) is in NP form with an average dimension of approximately 20 nm. SEM-EDX technique confirmed the presence of AgNPs only in livers of treated animals. The results show that feeding AgNPs to hens may become a source of consumer exposure to AgNPs. As far as we know this is the first study showing transfer of AgNPs or reaction products thereof from animal feed to animal products.

Comparison of the suitability of alkaline or enzymatic sample pre-treatment for characterization of silver nanoparticles in human tissue by single particle ICP-MS

“…Alkaline solubilization, most commonly used with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), was, on the other hand, found to be effective for releasing NPs from the tissues of Daphnia magna and Lumbriculus variegatus (AgNPs, AuNPs), 21 tissue and feces of rats (AgNPs, AuNPs), 19,22 ground beef (AgNPs, AuNPs), 21 human hepatoma (HepG2) cells (AgNPs) 13 and primary human endothelial cells (AuNPs). In a similar way, enzymatic treatment with the use of proteases has been applied for extracting NPs from the tissues of rats (AgNPs, AuNPs), 22,24 earthworms (AgNPs), 25 chicken meat (AgNPs), [26][27][28][29] game meat (Pb), 30 eff yolk (AgNPs) 31 and human synovial fluid (Cr, Co). 32 Macerozyme R-10, a mixture of pectinase, cellulase and hemicellulase, has been applied for NPs in plants, e.g.…”

Evaluation of the Effects of Silver Nanoparticles Against Experimentally Induced Necrotic Enteritis in Broiler Chickens

“…However, in one study, oral administration of six doses of approximately 1 mg/kg of Ag NPs (diameter, 20 nm) did not leave any residues in the muscles of hens but only accumulated in the liver and eggs. 55 Kulak et al 43 found that oral administration of Ag NPs in broiler chickens resulted in residues in the small intestine and liver but not in the heart or breast muscle. It is considered that up to 100 µg Ag/L in drinking water is safe for human consumption without inducing adverse effects.…”

Administration of Silver Nasal Spray Leads to Nanoparticle Accumulation in Rat Brain Tissues

“…Numerous studies have reported the sulfidation of Ag in various media, including animal, microorganism, plant, and diverse environmental matrices . Colloidal Ag may undergo a series of biotransformation, associated with the behavior of colloidal Ag in organisms, such as corona formation, biomolecule attachment, and interactions with cells. − Silver is prone to integrating with S in organisms due to its strong binding force and the abundance of S in organisms.…”