Abstract
Abstract Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been extensively used in various industries; however, this is accompanied by several implications to humans and the environment. This review focuses on different aspects of AgNPs including the production and detection techniques, their fate, and dynamics in response to different environmental factors. In addition, this review illustrates the toxicity mechanism and the interaction of AgNPs with different matrices, such as aquatic environment, soil, crops, and humans. Reduction measures and future research are discussed.
Highlights
Graphical abstract: Practically, AgNPs are converted to the positively charged Ag+ ions by dissolution process and will react with the negatively charged oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the vital organelles like DNA, mitochondrion, and the thiol group presented in protein structures and enzymes, which in terms interrupts the normal cell reproduction, and the death of cell will occur according to the toxicity limit of (Ag+) silver ions level of each organ
The results showed that citrate-coated AgNPs remained stable in low-salinity waters due to the impacts of dissolved organic matter (DOM) which promoted the stability of NPs (Figure 4)
It is not expected to rule out the toxicity behavior of AgNPs against soil microorganisms using these intrinsic/extrinsic defense mechanisms, especially at high silver concentrations, because AgNPs are not naturally distributed in the soil system. These findings suggest that AgNPs may negatively affect soil fertility and plant safety, and the probability of their consequence negative impacts may increase on human health and wild animals
Summary
AgNPs have been used in various applications since ancient times, for instance, they were used for the conservation of mummies in Ancient Egypt [28] (Figure 1). Silver is used in smart nano-systems by developing AgNPs for various functions, e.g., imaging contrast, drug delivery, cell targeting, etc. By searching the Scopus for the words “AgNPs synthesis,” one can find 42,100 publications covering the period between 2160 BC and 2020. Varied preparation methodologies of AgNPs have been reported, including, chemical, physical, biosynthesis, and photochemical methods. Forty two percent of the published researches used chemical methods, while physical, biological, and photochemical syntheses represented 33, 18, and 7%, respectively, of the scholarly output (Figure 2)
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