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Current analyses show a widespread occurrence of microplastic particles in food products and raise the question of potential risks to human health. Plastic particles are widely considered to be inert due to their low chemical reactivity and therefore supposed to pose, if at all only minor hazards. However, variable physicochemical conditions during the passage of the gastrointestinal tract gain strong importance, as they may affect particle characteristics. This study aims to analyze the impact of the gastrointestinal passage on the physicochemical particle characteristics of the five most produced and thus environmentally relevant plastic materials polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and subsequent image analysis were employed to characterize microplastic particles. Our results demonstrate a high resistance of all plastic particles to the artificial digestive juices. The present results underline that the main stages of the human gastrointestinal tract do not decompose the particles. This allows a direct correlation between the physicochemical particle characteristics before and after digestion. Special attention must be paid to the adsorption of organic compounds like proteins, mucins and lipids on plastic particles since it could lead to misinterpretations of particle sizes and shapes.
The utilization of silver nanoparticles in consumer related products has significantly increased over the last decade, especially due to their antimicrobial properties. Today they are used in a high variety of products ranging from food containers over children toys and textiles. Therefore, research on the toxicological potential of silver nanoparticles becomes increasingly important for a high amount of studies. Unfortunately, the results of these studies are extremely diverse and do not lead to a consistent evaluation. The central problem lies in the use of a wide range of silver nanoparticles, which show a broad size distribution. To overcome this problem we report on the synthesis and application of small silver nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (R = 3.1 nm, σ = 0.6 nm). The poly(acrylic acid) stabilized particles are thoroughly characterized by small-angle X-ray scattering, dynamic light scattering and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The particles are highly stable and show no aggregation for more than six months. It is foreseen to use these thoroughly characterized nanoparticles as reference material to compare the catalytic and biological properties of functionalized silver nanoparticles. As a first step the particles are used in the first world-wide inter-laboratory comparison of SAXS. Furthermore, the stabilizing ligand PAA can be easily exchanged by biomolecules to modify the surface functionality. Replacements of PAA with glutathione (GSH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) have been performed as examples. With this flexible system first applications regarding biological application in an artificial digestion procedure have been performed. Thereby the changes in size distribution and aggregation state were monitored by SAXS. Additionally these particles show a high catalytic activity of (436 ± 24) L g-1 s-1 in the reduction of 4- nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. This activity is two orders of magnitude higher than for other silver particles in the literature.
An artificial digestion of silver nitrate is reported. It is shown that AgSCN nanoparticles emerge from ionic silver in saliva and remain present during the entire digestion process. The particles were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) regarding their composition and size distribution.
Over the last decade nanoparticles are progressively included in products of our daily life. Due to their antimicrobial properties, silver nanoparticles are used in a high variety of consumer products ranging from food containers over medicine and textiles. Therefore, research on the toxicological potential of nanosilver becomes increasingly important. This includes investigations concerning uptake, distribution and excretion of the particles. However, little attention was paid to changes of physical and chemical properties of the particles in the human body. One of the most important questions is if the particles can pass the digestion process without altering their shape and size. In this study we report on a versatile system of ultra-small silver nanoparticles with a mean volume weighted radius of 3.1 nm and a narrow size distribution width of 20%. The nanoparticles’ coating of poly (acrylic acid) can easily be exchanged by biocompatible ligands like albumin or glutathione. The particles are thoroughly characterized by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), DLS, IR and UV/Vis spectroscopy. We used the particles in an artificial digestion procedure which mimics the gastro-intestinal passage (Figure 1). Thereby the changes in the size distribution during the digestion process were analytically monitored by SAXS. Additionally, we used as food components oil, starch, skimmed milk powder and mixture thereof to provide a preferably realistic environment. Large aggregates of up to 56 nm were formed in the absence of food additives. In contrast, the presence of oil and starch limit the radii of aggregates to about 10 nm. Milk powder shows strong protective properties resulting in only small aggregates of 6 nm radii. Our results indicate that silver can indeed pass the digestion process in a nanoscale form depending on the nanoparticle coating and additional ingredients. These results have an impact on future toxicological considerations regarding silver nanoparticle-containing consumer products.
Creating the Silver Standard: Development of a Silver Nanoparticle Reference Material using SAXS
(2017)
The utilization of silver nanoparticles in consumer related products has significantly increased over the last decade, especially due to their antimicrobial properties. Today they are used in a high variety of products, which ranges from food containers over children toys and textiles. Therefore, research on the toxicological potential of silver in a nanoscale form becomes increasingly important for a high amount of studies. Unfortunately the results of these studies are extremely diverse and do not lead to a consistent evaluation of the toxicity of silver nanoparticles. The central problem lies in the use of a wide range of silver nanoparticles, which show a broad size distribution. To overcome this problem we report on the synthesis of ultra-small silver nanoparticles and their quantitative characterization by small-angle X-ray scattering. The particles are highly stable and show no aggregation for more than six months. SAXS analysis via a Monte Carlo data evaluation procedure reveal a narrow size distribution of the silver cores with a mean volume weighted radius of 3.0 nm and a distribution width of 0.6 nm. Dynamic light scattering provides a hydrodynamic radius of 10.0 nm and a PDI of 0.09. The particles are stabilized with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) forming a shell with a thickness of 7.0 nm. It is foreseen to use these thoroughly characterized particles as reference material to compare the catalytic and biological properties of functionalized silver nanoparticles. As a first step the particles are used in the first world-wide inter-laboratory comparison of SAXS. This study reveals that SAXS shows highly reproducible results for particles in the sub-20 nm region independently on the type of instrument used. Furthermore, the stabilizing ligand PAA can be easily exchanged by biomolecules to modify the surface functionality. Replacements of PAA with glutathione (GSH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) have been performed as examples. With this flexible system first applications regarding biological application in an artificial digestion procedure have been performed. Thereby the changes in size distribution and aggregation state were monitored by SAXS.