Applied Biotechnology Branch, Human Effectiveness Directorate Air Force Research Laboratory Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, USA.
Nanoscale. 2010 May;2(5):763-70. doi: 10.1039/c0nr00046a. Epub 2010 Mar 15.
Since ancient times, people have taken advantage of the antimicrobial effects of colloidal silver particles. Aside from the medical prospects, silver nanoparticles are found in a wide range of commercially available consumer products ranging from cosmetics to household cleansers. Current synthetic methods for creating silver nanoparticles typically call for potentially hazardous chemicals, extreme heat, and produce environmentally dangerous byproducts. Therefore, it is essential that novel "green" synthesis of nanoparticles becomes a reality, and it is imperative to fully analyze the potential toxic effects of these nanoparticles. In this study, we have shown that by reducing silver nitrate in solutions of tea extract or epicatechin of varying concentrations, spherical silver nanoparticles were formed that had controllable size distributions depending on the concentration of tea extract or epicatechin in the samples. Our ultra-resolution microscopy demonstrated that the nanoparticles were in fact interacting with the keratinocytes. Furthermore, evaluation of mitochondrial function (MTS) to assess cell viability and membrane integrity (LDH) in human keratinocytes showed that the silver nanoparticles were nontoxic. These results demonstrated that these nanoparicles are potentially biocompatible and warrant further evaluation in other biological systems.
自古以来，人们就利用胶体银颗粒的抗菌作用。除了具有医学前景外，银纳米粒子还存在于各种市售的消费品中，从化妆品到家用清洁剂。目前，制造银纳米粒子的合成方法通常需要使用潜在危险的化学物质、极端的高温，并产生对环境有害的副产品。因此，新型的“绿色”纳米粒子合成成为现实至关重要，并且必须充分分析这些纳米粒子的潜在毒性作用。在这项研究中，我们表明，通过在茶提取物或表儿茶素浓度不同的溶液中还原硝酸银，可以形成具有可控尺寸分布的球形银纳米粒子，这取决于样品中茶提取物或表儿茶素的浓度。我们的超高分辨率显微镜显示，实际上纳米粒子与角质形成细胞相互作用。此外，用人角质形成细胞评估线粒体功能（MTS）以评估细胞活力和膜完整性（LDH）表明，这些银纳米粒子没有毒性。这些结果表明，这些纳米粒子具有潜在的生物相容性，值得在其他生物系统中进一步评估。
