a Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia, Building X, Mawson Lakes Campus , South Australia , Australia .
b Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering , Universitat Polytècnica de Catalunya, ETSEIB , Barcelona , Spain .
Nanotoxicology. 2015;9(8):1005-12. doi: 10.3109/17435390.2014.994570. Epub 2015 Sep 10.
Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) are used in a wide variety of products, prompting concerns regarding their potential environmental impacts. To accurately determine the toxicity of Ag-NPs it is necessary to differentiate between the toxicity of the nanoparticles themselves and the toxicity of ionic silver (Ag) released from them. This is not a trivial task given the reactive nature of Ag in solution, and its propensity for both adsorption and photoreduction. In the experiments reported here, we quantified the loss of silver from test solutions during standard ecotoxicity testing conducted using a variety of different test container materials and geometries. This sensitive (110m)Ag isotope tracing method revealed a substantial underestimation of the toxicity of dissolved Ag to the green algae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata when calculated only on the basis of the initial test concentrations. Furthermore, experiments with surface-functionalized Ag-NPs under standard algal growth inhibition test conditions also demonstrated extensive losses of Ag-NPs from the solution due to adsorption to the container walls, and the extent of loss was dependent on Ag-NP surface-functionality. These results hold important messages for researchers engaged in both environmental and human nanotoxicology testing, not only for Ag-NPs but also for other NPs with various tailored surface chemistries, where these phenomena are recognized but are also frequently disregarded in the experimental design and reporting.
银纳米颗粒（Ag-NPs）被广泛应用于各种产品中，这引发了人们对其潜在环境影响的关注。为了准确评估 Ag-NPs 的毒性，有必要区分纳米颗粒本身的毒性和从纳米颗粒中释放出的离子银（Ag）的毒性。鉴于 Ag 在溶液中的反应性及其吸附和光还原的倾向，这并非易事。在本研究中，我们量化了在使用各种不同测试容器材料和几何形状进行的标准生态毒性测试过程中，测试溶液中银的损失。这种灵敏的（110m）Ag 同位素示踪方法表明，当仅根据初始测试浓度计算时，溶解态 Ag 对绿藻 Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata 的毒性存在严重低估。此外，在标准藻类生长抑制测试条件下进行的表面功能化 Ag-NPs 实验也表明，由于容器壁的吸附作用，大量 Ag-NPs 从溶液中损失，损失程度取决于 Ag-NP 的表面功能化。这些结果为从事环境和人类纳米毒理学测试的研究人员提供了重要信息，不仅针对 Ag-NPs，还针对其他具有各种定制表面化学性质的 NPs，因为这些现象在实验设计和报告中虽然已被认识到，但却经常被忽视。
