In vitro safety assessment of nanosilver with improved cell culture systems

Background Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) become increasingly prevailing in consumer products as antibacterial agents [1] and their potential threat on human health makes the risk assessment of utmost importance. In order to elucidate the complex interactions of Ag-NPs upon digestion in the gastrointestinal tract, an improved in vitro cell culture system was used. The model contained, beside the enterocytes, specialized microfold (M) cells, able to increase the absorption of microand nanoparticles [2,3]. In the current study, different aspects of the toxicity of Ag-NPs on the cell of intestinal epithelium were studied, i.e. cytotoxicity, inflammatory response and barrier integrity of the epithelial monolayer.