Abstract
Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) are the most prominent nanoproducts. Due to their antimicrobial activity, they have been incorporated in different materials, such as catheters, clothes, electric home appliance, and many others. The genotoxicity of Ag-NPs (5–45 nm), in different concentrations and times of exposure, was evaluated by the comet assay in in vitro and in vivo conditions, respectively, using human peripheral blood and Swiss mice. The results showed the genotoxic effect of Ag-NPs in vitro, in all the doses tested in the initial hour of exposure, possibly through the reactive oxygen species generation. Nevertheless, the values for this damage decrease with time, indicating that the DNA may have been restored by the repair system. In the in vivo conditions, we found no genotoxicity of Ag-NPs in any hour of exposure and any dose investigated, which can be attributed to the activation of a cellular antioxidant network and the hydrophobic nature of Ag-NPs. Now, it is absolutely necessary to investigate the role of Ag-NPs in different cell lines in vivo.
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Tavares, P., Balbinot, F., de Oliveira, H.M. et al. Evaluation of genotoxic effect of silver nanoparticles (Ag-Nps) in vitro and in vivo. J Nanopart Res 14, 791 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-012-0791-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-012-0791-y