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Toxic effect of environmentally relevant concentration of silver nanoparticles on environmentally beneficial bacterium Pseudomonas putida

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Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are being increasingly used in many consumer products owing to their excellent antimicrobial properties. The continuous use of Ag NPs in consumer products will lead to environmental release. The present study evaluated the toxic effects and the possible underlying mechanism of Ag NPs on Pseudomonas putida. Ag NP exposure inhibited growth of the cells. Increased lipid peroxidation occurred coincident with suppression of the antioxidant defense system. Ag NP exposure caused reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, glutathione depletion and inactivation of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione reductase. The addition of superoxide dismutase or pretreatment of P. putida with N-acetyl cysteine that quenches ROS reduced toxicity of the NPs.

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Acknowledgments

Authors thank Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India for providing funding (SB/FT/LS-281/2012) to carry out our research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Nanotechnology and Advanced Biomaterials, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur, 613 401, Tamil Nadu, India

    S. Sudheer Khan & Preethy Chandran

  2. Prism Foundation, Subash Nagar, Thrissur, Kerala, India

    Syed Shabin Ghouse

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  1. S. Sudheer Khan
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  2. Syed Shabin Ghouse
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  3. Preethy Chandran
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Correspondence to S. Sudheer Khan.

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Sudheer Khan, S., Ghouse, S.S. & Chandran, P. Toxic effect of environmentally relevant concentration of silver nanoparticles on environmentally beneficial bacterium Pseudomonas putida . Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 38, 1243–1249 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-015-1365-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-015-1365-z

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