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Title: Comparison of 20 nm silver nanoparticles synthesized with and without a gold core. Structure, dissolution in cell culture media, and biological impact on macrophages

Journal Article · · Biointerphases
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4926547· OSTI ID:1212238

Widespread use of silver nanoparticles raises questions of environmental impact and toxicity. Both silver particles and silver ions formed by particle dissolution may impact biological systems. Therefore it is important to understand the characteristics of silver nanoparticles and their stability in relevant media. The synthesis route can impact physical and chemical characteristics of the particles and we report the characterization and solution stability of three types of silver nanoparticles (20 nm particles with and without gold cores and 110 nm particles with gold cores) in cell culture media with serum proteins: FBS10%/RPMI. These nanoparticles were synthesized in aqueous solution and characterized using both in situ and ex situ analysis methods. Dissolution studies were carried at particle concentrations from 1 µg/ml to 50 µg/ml. Particles with gold cores had smaller crystallite size and higher apparent solubility than pure silver particles. A dissolution model was found to describe the time variation of particle size and amount of dissolved silver for particle loadings above 9 µg/ml. An effective solubility product obtained from fitting the data was higher for the 20 nm gold core particles in comparison to the pure silver or 110 nm particles. Dissolution of the nanoparticles was enhanced by presence of serum proteins contained in fetal bovine serum. In addition, the protocol of the dispersion in the medium was found to influence particle agglomeration and dissolution. Results show that particle structure can impact the concentration of dissolved silver and the dose to which cells would be exposed during in vitro studies.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1212238
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-102846; BJIOBN; 44635; 400412000
Journal Information:
Biointerphases, Vol. 10, Issue 3; ISSN 1934-8630
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 24 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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