Detection and characterization of silver nanoparticles and dissolved species of silver in culture medium and cells by AsFlFFF-UV-Vis-ICPMS: application to nanotoxicity tests

Quantifying the total ionic release from nanoparticles after particle-cell contact

In order to assess the potential hazards of nanoparticles (NPs) releasing, better knowledge about their toxicity to microbes is required. However, it remains controversial whether NPs could exert particles pecifictoxicity. In this study, the toxic impacts of four kinds of rare earth oxides (REO) NPs (La(2)O(3),CeO(2), Gd(2)O(3), and Yb(2)O(3)) on gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) pBR322 were examined. The results indicate that all the tested NPs possessed cytotoxicity against E. coli. To evaluate the ion-related toxicity of REO NPs, the NPs dissolution in the presence of test organisms was quantitatively measured using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. Our results suggest that NPs-cell contact could facilitate the dissolution of NPs, and the additional ionic release at the particle-cell interface might result in a substantial increase in the ion-related toxicities towards the test organisms. Therefore, the ion-related toxicity of NPs might be grossly underestimated if the additional dissolution of NPs caused by particle-cell contact was overlooked, further leading to a false interpretation of particle-specific toxicity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first determination of the total NPs dissolution after particle-cell contact. These findings are helpful to advance mechanistic understanding of the toxicity exerted by dissolvable metal-based NPs.

An insight into silver nanoparticles bioavailability in rats

A comprehensive study of the bioavailability of orally administered silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was carried out using a rat model. The silver uptake was monitored in liver and kidney tissues, as well as in urine and in feces. Significant accumulation of silver was found in both organs, the liver being the principal target of AgNPs. A significant (∼50%) fraction of silver was found in feces whereas the fraction excreted via urine was negligible (< 0.01%). Intact silver nanoparticles were found in feces by asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF) coupled with UV-Vis analysis. Laser ablation-ICP MS imaging showed that AgNPs were able to penetrate into the liver, in contrast to kidneys where they were retained in the cortex. Silver speciation analysis in cytosols from kidneys showed the metallothionein complex as the major species whereas in the liver the majority of silver was bound to high-molecular (70-25 kDa) proteins. These findings demonstrate the presence of Ag(i), released by the oxidation of AgNPs in the biological environment.