BACKGROUND Because of their antimicrobial properties, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely used and have come into contact with the environment. In the present work, an effect of AgNPs on a standard soil organism, Folsomia candida, was studied (in comparison to silver nitrate) focusing on molecular and cellular alterations as ecotoxicological endpoints. RESULTS At the molecular level...

We discovered that Yeast Extract Mannitol (YEM) medium possessed immense potential to generate silver nanoparticles from AgNO3 upon autoclaving, which was evident from (i) alteration in color of the medium; (ii) peak at ∼410 nm in UV-Vis spectrum due to surface plasmon resonance specific to silver nanoparticles; and (iii) TEM investigations. TEM coupled with EDX confirmed that distinct nanopart...

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels are materials for potential use in burn healing. Silver nanoparticles can be synthesized within PVA hydrogels giving antimicrobial hydrogels. Hydrogels have to be swollen prior to their application, and the common medium available for that in hospitals is saline solution, but the hydrogel could also take up some of the wound's fluid. This work developed gamma-i...

Indolic secondary metabolites play an important role in pathogen defense in cruciferous plants. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), in addition to the characteristic phytoalexin camalexin, derivatives of indole-3-carbaldehyde (ICHO) and indole-3carboxylic acid (ICOOH) are synthesized from tryptophan via the intermediates indole-3-acetaldoxime and indole-3-acetonitrile. Based on feeding exper...

Lattice henbane (Hyoscyamus reticulatus L.) is an herbaceous, biennial plant belonging to Solanaceae family. H. reticulatus hairy roots were established from two-week-old leaves infected by A7 strain of Agrobacterium rhizogenes on solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. In this study, abiotic elicitors including; Sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) with different concentrations (0, 1, 5 and 7 mM) and silv...

It was shown that ointments containing silver compounds delay wound healing and increase the risk of hypertrophic scarring in burned patients. The aim of the study was to establish the influence of AgNO3 on cell viability and apoptosis of keratinocytes and fibroblasts in vitro. Foreskin was used to establish primary human keratinocyte and fibroblasts cell cultures. Keratynocytes grew in DMEM/Ha...

Silver nanoparticles integrated with a magnetic matrix such as Fe3O4 to form AgFe3O4 nanocomposites show some advantages in their applications as an antibacterial agent and heterogeneous catalyst. This material can be synthesized by a combination of electrochemical and reduction methods supported by ultrasonic route. The purposes of this study are to synthesize the nanocomposites by reduction m...

The aim of this study was to assess the ability of selected strains of cyanobacteria and microalgae to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) by using two procedures; (i) suspending the live and washed biomass of microalgae and cyanobacteria into the AgNO3 solution and (ii) by adding AgNO3 into a cell-free culture liquid. Ag-NPs were biosynthesized by 14 out of 16 tested strains. In most o...

Water-soluble Ag-Au bimetallic nanostructures were prepared via co-reduction and seed-mediated growth routes employing poly-(4-styrenesulfonic acid-co-maleic acid) (PSSMA) as both a reductant and a stabilizer. Ag-Au alloy nanoparticles were obtained by the co-reduction of AgNO3 and HAuCl4, while Ag-Au core-shell nanostructures were prepared through seed-mediated growth using PSSMA-Au nanopartic...