title: Bioavailability of silver nanoparticles and ions: from a chemical and biochemical perspective.
abstract: Owing to their antimicrobial properties, silver nanoparticles (NPs) are the most commonly used engineered nanomaterial for use in a wide array of consumer and medical applications. Many discussions are currently ongoing as to whether or not exposure of silver NPs to the ecosystem (i.e. plants and animals) may be conceived as harmful or not. Metallic silver, if released into the environment, can undergo chemical and biochemical conversion which strongly influence its availability towards any biological system. During this process, in the presence of moisture, silver can be oxidized resulting in the release of silver ions. To date, it is still debatable as to whether any biological impact of nanosized silver is relative to either its size, or to its ionic constitution. The aim of this review therefore is to provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary overview--for biologists, chemists, toxicologists as well as physicists--regarding the production of silver NPs, its (as well as in their ionic form) chemical and biochemical behaviours towards/within a multitude of relative and realistic biological environments and also how such interactions may be correlated across a plethora of different biological organisms.
authors.affiliation: Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Environmental Toxicology, PO Box 611, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Behra
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sigg
authors.forename: Martin J D
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Clift
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Minghetti
authors.forename: Blair
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: Alke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petri-Fink
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rothen-Rutishauser
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D001682:Biological Availability; D001711:Biotransformation; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals / Q000378:metabolism; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D008956:Models, Chemical; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D012834:Silver
keywords: biological impact; silver ions; silver nanoparticles