Nano Biomedicine
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Silver Nanoparticle Cytotoxicity and Antidote Proteins against Silver Toxicity in Paramecium

 Taiki ABE1, Koichi HANEDA2, and Nobuyuki HAGA1
1 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Ishinomaki Senshu University, Ishinomaki, Japan
2 Department of Information Technology and Electronics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Ishinomaki Senshu University, Ishinomaki, Japan
Nano Biomed 2014;6(1): 35-40, (Jun 30)
Synopsis
Silver metals have been used as chemical catalysis and antimicrobial agents. We examined the cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles by using Paramecium cells. Our results indicate that silver nanoparticles continuously produce silver ions in water. The silver ions, in turn, cause serious cytotoxicity towards paramecia. We have identified three kinds of proteins; human serum albumin (HSA), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and casein (CA) as potent antidotes for silver ions. Our findings will provide a useful method for detoxification of silver ions not only for human health but also for water environments.

Key words: silver nanoparticle, silver ions, cytotoxicity, antidote proteins, Paramecium

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