title: Investigation of the cytotoxicity mechanism of silver nanoparticles in vitro.
abstract: Nowadays, more and more nanotechnology products and nanomaterials are being applied in our lives. Silver nanoparticles (SNPs) are used in infection prevention and treatment due to their antimicrobial activity. However, as a kind of nanomaterial, the toxicology of SNPs has not been completely studied. The mechanism of cytotoxicity of SNPs in vitro to mouse's fibroblast cells (L929) was investigated in this study. As a contrast, silver microparticles (SMPs) were also studied. Propidium iodide (PI) single staining and Annexin-V/PI staining were carried out to unveil the influence of SNPs and SMPs on the cells. A transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to observe SNPs' distribution in the cells. The results of cell cycle analysis indicated that the cells treated with SNPs were arrested in the G2M phase. Meanwhile, SNPs lead to apoptosis of more cells compared to SMPs at the same dose as a result of apoptosis analysis. Analysis of the cells' ultrastructure showed that SNPs could be phagocytized into the cells while SMPs could not. The mechanism of cytotoxicity of SNPs in vitro to L929 cells may be that SNPs are phagocytized into the cells and they interact with mitochondria or other organelles, even nuclei, which results in cells' apoptosis or necrosis.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical Materials and Tissue Engineering, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Jinglong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Zhixiong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yanmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Gui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Tingfei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xi
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D008422:Materials Testing; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000633:toxicity*; D012834:Silver / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D012834:Silver