title: Toxicological studies on silver nanoparticles: challenges and opportunities in assessment, monitoring and imaging.
abstract: Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are becoming increasingly prevalent in consumer products as antibacterial agents. The increased use of Ag NP-enhanced products may lead to an increase in toxic levels of environmental silver, but regulatory control over the use or disposal of such products is lagging due to insufficient assessment on the toxicology of Ag NPs and their rate of release into the environment. In this article we discuss recent research on the transport, activity and fate of Ag NPs at the cellular and organismic level, in conjunction with traditional and recently established methods of nanoparticle characterization. We include several proposed mechanisms of cytotoxicity based on such studies, as well as new opportunities for investigating the uptake and fate of Ag NPs in living systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Purdue University, 225 S University St., West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew Charles
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Stensberg
authors.forename: Qingshan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Eric Scott
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: McLamore
authors.forename: David Marshall
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Porterfield
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: María Soledad
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sepúlveda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity*; D012834:Silver / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D012834:Silver