E-mail: korea1@kw.ac.krReceived August 14, 2012, Accepted September 12, 2012With continuing progress of nanotechnologies and various applications of nanoparticles, one needs to developa quick and fairly standard assessment tool to evaluate cytotoxicity of nanoparticles. However, muchcytotoxicity studies on the interpretation of the interaction between nanoparticles and cells are non-mechanisticand time-consuming. Here, we propose a simple screening method for the analysis of the interaction betweenseveral AgNPs (5.3 to 64 nm) and fluorescence-dye containing vesicles (12 µm) acting as a biomimetic cell-membrane. Fluorescence-dye containing vesicle was prepared using a fluorescence probe (1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatryene), which was intercalated into the lipid bilayer due to their hydrophobicity. Zeta potential of allmaterials except for bare-AgNPs (+32.8 mV) was negative ( −26 to −54 mV). The morphological change ( i.e.,rupture and fusion of vesicle, and release of dye) after mixing of the vesicle and AgNPs was observed byfluorescence microscopy, and fluorescence image were different with coating materials and surface charge ofx-AgNPs. In the results, we found that the surface charge of nanoparticles is the key factor for vesicle ruptureand fusion. This proposed method might be useful for analyzing the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles with cell-membranes instead of in vitro or in vivo cytotoxicity tests.Key Words : Silver nanoparticles, Toxicology, Biomimetic, Vesicle, FluorescenceIntroductionBecause of the plasmonic and antimicrobial properties ofsilver nanoparticles (AgNPs), these nanoparticles are alreadyfinding applications in wide fields, such as environmentaland biomedical sensors, and chemical and electrical appli-cations. With increasing utilization of AgNPs in consumerproducts, the potential release of AgNPs into the environ-ment and their impacts on the ecosystem and human healthhave been the issues of concern.