Cytotoxicity of β-D-glucose/sucrose-coated silver nanoparticles depends on cell type, nanoparticles concentration and time of incubation

The use of silver NanoParticles (AgNPs) in several consumer commercialized products, like food contact materials, medical devices and cosmetics has increased significantly, owing to their antibacterial and antifungal properties. Even though the NPs are widely diffused, due to the great variety in size, coating or shape, controversial data on their possible detrimental health effects still exist. Herein, by performing an easy and fast green method synthesis, we used β-D-glucose/sucrose to stabilize AgNPs and avoid the release of cytotoxic soluble silver ions Ag+ in the culture medium. The cytotoxic effects of these β-D-Glucose/Sucrose-Coated AgNPs (AgNPs-GS) was assessed on two cell culture models, which are human liver HepG2 and human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes (PBLs) cells. AgNPs-GS, as determined by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analyses, had an average diameter of 30±5 nm, a spherical shape and were well-dispersed in the freshly-prepared solution. In addition, they were found spectrophotometrically stable throughout the experiment. Cytotoxicity, determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay, was evaluated by using two AgNPs-GS amounts, indicated as highest (10×103 of NPs/cell) and lowest (2×103 NPs/cell) concentration for 6, 12 and 24 h. The highest concentration of AgNPs-GS was significantly cytotoxic for both HepG2 and PBLs cells at all times, when compared with the negative control; conversely, the lowest amount of AgNPs-GS was toxic only for HepG2 cells. A significant increase of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) levels, determined by Nitro Blue Tetrazolium (NBT) reduction assay, was observed only in PBLs after treatment with NPs, by reaching maximum levels after the incubation with the lowest amount of NPs for 24 h. Significant morphological changes, depending on NPs/cell amount, characteristic of cell toxicity, like shape, cytoplasm, and nucleus alterations, were observed in lymphocytes and HepG2 cells exposed to AgNPs. The results indicate that HepG2 cells are more responsive to AgNPs treatment than PBLs. It is generally believed that cellular oxidative stress induces toxicity of NPs; however, in this study we did not detect any AgNPs-induced oxidative stress in HepG2, thus suggesting an alternative mechanism of toxicity in this cell line. In the whole, our findings suggest that AgNPs-GS-induced toxicity strictly depends on cell type, NPs amount and time of treatment