Nanosilver Environmental Safety in Marine Organisms: Ecotoxicological Assessment of a Commercial Nano-Enabled Product vs an Eco-Design Formulation
With the increasing use of manufactured nanomaterials in consumer products, especially silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), concerns about their environmental impact are rising. Two AgNP formulations were tested, the commercial nanosilver product nanArgen™ and a newly eco-designed bifunctionalized nanosilv...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Toxics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/5/338 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849718876904882176 |
|---|---|
| author | Arianna Bellingeri Analía Ale Tatiana Rusconi Mattia Scattoni Sofia Lemaire Giuseppe Protano Iole Venditti Ilaria Corsi |
| author_facet | Arianna Bellingeri Analía Ale Tatiana Rusconi Mattia Scattoni Sofia Lemaire Giuseppe Protano Iole Venditti Ilaria Corsi |
| author_sort | Arianna Bellingeri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With the increasing use of manufactured nanomaterials in consumer products, especially silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), concerns about their environmental impact are rising. Two AgNP formulations were tested, the commercial nanosilver product nanArgen™ and a newly eco-designed bifunctionalized nanosilver (AgNPcitLcys), using marine organisms across three trophic levels, microalgae, microcrustaceans, and bivalves. Acute toxicity was assessed on the diatom <i>Phaeodactylum tricornutum</i>, brine shrimp larvae <i>Artemia franciscana</i>, and bivalve <i>Mytilus galloprovincialis</i>. The behavior of the formulations in marine media, including stability across a concentration range (0.001–100 mg/L), was also evaluated. Results showed that nanArgen™ was less stable compared to AgNpcitLcys, releasing more silver ions and exhibiting higher toxicity to microalgae (100% growth inhibition at 1 mg/L) and microcrustaceans (>80% mortality at 10 mg/L). Conversely, AgNPcitLcys (10 µg/L) was more toxic to bivalves, possibly due to the smaller nanoparticle size affecting lysosomal membrane stability. This study highlights how eco-design, such as surface coating, influences AgNP behavior and toxicity. These findings emphasize the importance of eco-design in minimizing environmental impacts and guiding the development of safer, more sustainable nanomaterials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6cbee4f1769e459689be2d71e1270e2f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2305-6304 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxics |
| spelling | doaj-art-6cbee4f1769e459689be2d71e1270e2f2025-08-20T03:12:15ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042025-04-0113533810.3390/toxics13050338Nanosilver Environmental Safety in Marine Organisms: Ecotoxicological Assessment of a Commercial Nano-Enabled Product vs an Eco-Design FormulationArianna Bellingeri0Analía Ale1Tatiana Rusconi2Mattia Scattoni3Sofia Lemaire4Giuseppe Protano5Iole Venditti6Ilaria Corsi7Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, ItalyDepartment of Toxicology, Pharmacology and Legal Biochemistry, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Bioógicas (FBCB-UNL), CONICET, Santa Fe 3000, ArgentinaDepartment of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, ItalyDepartment of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, ItalyDepartment of Sciences, Roma Tre University of Rome, 00146 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, ItalyDepartment of Sciences, Roma Tre University of Rome, 00146 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, ItalyWith the increasing use of manufactured nanomaterials in consumer products, especially silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), concerns about their environmental impact are rising. Two AgNP formulations were tested, the commercial nanosilver product nanArgen™ and a newly eco-designed bifunctionalized nanosilver (AgNPcitLcys), using marine organisms across three trophic levels, microalgae, microcrustaceans, and bivalves. Acute toxicity was assessed on the diatom <i>Phaeodactylum tricornutum</i>, brine shrimp larvae <i>Artemia franciscana</i>, and bivalve <i>Mytilus galloprovincialis</i>. The behavior of the formulations in marine media, including stability across a concentration range (0.001–100 mg/L), was also evaluated. Results showed that nanArgen™ was less stable compared to AgNpcitLcys, releasing more silver ions and exhibiting higher toxicity to microalgae (100% growth inhibition at 1 mg/L) and microcrustaceans (>80% mortality at 10 mg/L). Conversely, AgNPcitLcys (10 µg/L) was more toxic to bivalves, possibly due to the smaller nanoparticle size affecting lysosomal membrane stability. This study highlights how eco-design, such as surface coating, influences AgNP behavior and toxicity. These findings emphasize the importance of eco-design in minimizing environmental impacts and guiding the development of safer, more sustainable nanomaterials.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/5/338silver nanoparticlescappingecotoxicologynano-enabled productseco-design |
| spellingShingle | Arianna Bellingeri Analía Ale Tatiana Rusconi Mattia Scattoni Sofia Lemaire Giuseppe Protano Iole Venditti Ilaria Corsi Nanosilver Environmental Safety in Marine Organisms: Ecotoxicological Assessment of a Commercial Nano-Enabled Product vs an Eco-Design Formulation Toxics silver nanoparticles capping ecotoxicology nano-enabled products eco-design |
| title | Nanosilver Environmental Safety in Marine Organisms: Ecotoxicological Assessment of a Commercial Nano-Enabled Product vs an Eco-Design Formulation |
| title_full | Nanosilver Environmental Safety in Marine Organisms: Ecotoxicological Assessment of a Commercial Nano-Enabled Product vs an Eco-Design Formulation |
| title_fullStr | Nanosilver Environmental Safety in Marine Organisms: Ecotoxicological Assessment of a Commercial Nano-Enabled Product vs an Eco-Design Formulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nanosilver Environmental Safety in Marine Organisms: Ecotoxicological Assessment of a Commercial Nano-Enabled Product vs an Eco-Design Formulation |
| title_short | Nanosilver Environmental Safety in Marine Organisms: Ecotoxicological Assessment of a Commercial Nano-Enabled Product vs an Eco-Design Formulation |
| title_sort | nanosilver environmental safety in marine organisms ecotoxicological assessment of a commercial nano enabled product vs an eco design formulation |
| topic | silver nanoparticles capping ecotoxicology nano-enabled products eco-design |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/5/338 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ariannabellingeri nanosilverenvironmentalsafetyinmarineorganismsecotoxicologicalassessmentofacommercialnanoenabledproductvsanecodesignformulation AT analiaale nanosilverenvironmentalsafetyinmarineorganismsecotoxicologicalassessmentofacommercialnanoenabledproductvsanecodesignformulation AT tatianarusconi nanosilverenvironmentalsafetyinmarineorganismsecotoxicologicalassessmentofacommercialnanoenabledproductvsanecodesignformulation AT mattiascattoni nanosilverenvironmentalsafetyinmarineorganismsecotoxicologicalassessmentofacommercialnanoenabledproductvsanecodesignformulation AT sofialemaire nanosilverenvironmentalsafetyinmarineorganismsecotoxicologicalassessmentofacommercialnanoenabledproductvsanecodesignformulation AT giuseppeprotano nanosilverenvironmentalsafetyinmarineorganismsecotoxicologicalassessmentofacommercialnanoenabledproductvsanecodesignformulation AT iolevenditti nanosilverenvironmentalsafetyinmarineorganismsecotoxicologicalassessmentofacommercialnanoenabledproductvsanecodesignformulation AT ilariacorsi nanosilverenvironmentalsafetyinmarineorganismsecotoxicologicalassessmentofacommercialnanoenabledproductvsanecodesignformulation |