In vitro human digestion test to monitor the dissolution of silver nanoparticles

[摘要] Nanotechnology is a scientific revolution that the food industry has experienced over the last years. Widely employed as food additives and/or food contact materials in consumer products, silver nanoparticles are an example of this innovation. However, their increasing use makes also likely the human ingestion, thus requiring a proper risk analysis. In this framework, a comprehensive characterization of biotransformation of silver nanoparticles in biological fluids is fundamental for the regulatory needs. Herein, we aimed at studying the dissolution behaviour of silver nanoparticles using an in vitro test, which simulates the human oral ingestion of NPs during their passage through the gastrointestinal tract. The nanoparticle suspensions were characterized in the different digestion phases using several techniques to follow the changes of key physical properties (e.g., size, surface charge and plasmon peak) and to quantify the biotransformed products arisen by the process, as for example free silver ions.

[发布机构] Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Drug Discovery and Development Department, Via Morego, 30, Genova; 16136, Italy^1;Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Bio-Molecular Nanotechnologies at UniLe, Via Barsanti, Arnesano (Lecce); 73010, Italy^2

[效力级别] 医药卫生

[关键词] Biological fluids;Dissolution behaviour;Food contact material;Food industries;Gastrointestinal tract;Human digestion;Nanoparticle suspension;Scientific revolutions