Publication Date
2019
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Ioana E. Pavel, Ph.D. (Advisor); David A. Dolson, Ph.D. (Committee Member); Steven R. Higgins, Ph.D. (Committee Member); Marjorie M. Markopoulos, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
The number of consumer products containing nanomaterials over the last eight years has increased over two-fold. Silver is one of the most commonly used materials in consumer goods nanoparticle fabrication.1 Thus, the uptake and biodistribution of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) within mammalian cells can provide insight into their possible toxicological effects. In this study, starch-capped AgNPs of an average diameter of 9 ± 5 nm were synthesized via a bottom-up method, and characterized by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), inductively couple plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), and absorption spectroscopy. Vero 76 cells were incubated with 0.0, 0.1, 1.0, and 3.0 mg/L starch-capped AgNPs for 2, 4, 12, and 24 hr in a water vehicle control for imaging with CytoViva darkfield microscopy and hyperspectral analysis. It was observed that the morphology of the cells was negatively impacted at all exposure concentrations in a dose-dependent manner. The cells appear clustered, had fewer dendrites forming, and cell debris is visible on the microscope slide. Vero 76 cells were exposed to all concentrations of AgNPs for 4 hr at 0.0, 0.1, 1.0, and 1.5 mg/L for mitochondrial isolation and total Ag uptake was estimated by ICP-OES. It was determined that at exposure concentrations of 1.0 and 1.5 mg/L, AgNPs remained in the incubated Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM), 86% and 77%, respectively. A bicinchoninic acid (BCA) protein assay was also performed under similar conditions in order to examine cell viability. Cellular toxicity was found to be concentration dependent; the smallest cell viability value (7%) was observed at the highest concentration of AgNPs (3 mg/L).
Page Count
65
Department or Program
Department of Chemistry
Year Degree Awarded
2019
Copyright
Copyright 2019, some rights reserved. My ETD may be copied and distributed only for non-commercial purposes and may not be modified. All use must give me credit as the original author.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
