Table 4.
DNA damage and/or genotoxic effects observed in diverse plants exposed to several exposure times and concentrations of different AgNPs formulations.
| Plant | AgNPs Source and Physicochemical Properties | Active Component Concentration (Metallic Silver Content) | Exposure Time and (AgNPs) Used | DNA Damage or Genotoxic Effect | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanilla planifolia | Commercial Vector-Vita PVP-AgNPs Size: 35 ± 15 nm, coating agent: PVP; ζ potential: −15 mV; hydrodynamic diameter: 70 nm | Metallic silver content quantified by ICP-OES 1.5, 3, 6, and 12 mg/L of metallic silver 13.9, 27.8, 55.6, and 111.25 µM of metallic silver |
42 days (1008 h) 25, 50, 100, and 200 mg/L of AgNPs |
A dose-dependent increase in the frequency of cells with CA. 1.5 and 3 MN were observed in 3000 counted cells for the concentrations 100 and 200 mg/L, respectively | This work |
| Allium cepa | Commercial Sigma-Aldrich size: <100 nm, purity: 99.5% trace metal basis, coating agent: NR | NR | 4 h 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg/L |
CA and cell disintegration. | [20] |
| Vicia faba | Commercial Ocean Nanotech LLC, size: 60 nm; purity: 99.5% trace metal basis, coating agent: NR Characterization made by the authors Size: 63 ± 41 nm, ζ potential: −33.2 mV |
NR | 4 h of exposure and 24 h of recovery 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 mg/L |
Dose-dependence increase in the frequency of cells with CA and MN. MN frequency with 100 mg/L of AgNPs is triplicated compared with control (control 5.86 ± 0.66; AgNPs 100 mg/L: 18.4 ± 0.75). | [21] |
| Nicotiana tabacum | Commercial Sigma-Aldrich Size: <100 nm, purity: 99.5% trace metal basis, coating agent: NR Characterization made by the authors size: TEM 70–130 nm, av. ~125 nm; SEM: 90–180 nm, av. 120 nm; ζ potential: −4.86 mV |
NR | 24 h 25, 50, and 75 mg/L |
No damage was observed in nuclei isolated from shoots. Nuclei isolated from roots exposed to 50 and 75 µg/mL shown DNA damage determined by comet assay. Dose-dependence for DNA damage. | [22] |
| Triticum durum Desf. cv. Beni Sweif 1 | Synthesis, spherical, size: ~20 nm; coating agent: NR | NR | Soaked by 24 h in AgNPs solution and germinated by a period of 72 and 120 h, respectively. No concentrations reported |
Time-dependent increase in the CA and MN frequency | [23] |
| Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Giza 130 | Synthesis, spherical, size: ~20 nm; coating agent: NR | NR | Soaked by 24 h in AgNPs solution and germinated by a period of 72 and 120 h, respectively. No concentrations reported |
Time-dependent increase in the CA and MN frequency | [23] |
| Pithophora oedogonia (Mont.) Wittrock/Chara vulgaris Linn. | Synthesis; size: 10–15 nm, coating agent: NR | NR | 5 and 10 days 0.9 and 1.5 mM |
CA observed with 0.9 mM after exposure of 5 days. Longer exposure (10 days) or higher concentrations enhance the magnitude of CA. | [24] |
| Triticum aestivum L. | Green synthesis: Rhodophyta extraction + AgNO3 Chemical synthesis: NaOH + AgNO3 + PEG No characterization data, coating agent: NR |
NR | 8, 16, and 24 h 10, 20, 40, and 50 mg/L |
Both AgNPs showed concentration- and time-dependent increase in the frequency of cells with CA and MN. | [25] |
| Triticum aestivum L. cv. Blasco | Commercial nanoComposix Size: 10 nm, coating agent: PVP Characterization made by the authors Size: 13.2 nm |
NR | Soaked by 4 h in 32 mL of 1 and 10 mg/L PVP-AgNPs solution, respectively. | No differences between the genetic polymorphism of roots treated with AgNPs and control samples by AFLP. | [14] |
| Allium cepa | Synthesis AgNPs-citrate, size: 61.2 ± 33.9 nm; TEM: rod-like; ζ potential: −39.8 ± 3.4 mV AgNPs-PVP, size: 9.4 ± 1.3 nm; TEM: spherical; ζ potential: −4.8 ± 0.6 mV AgNPs-CTAB, size: 5.6 ± 2.1 nm; TEM: spherical; ζ potential: 42.5 ± 2.7 mV |
Metallic silver content quantified by ICP-MS for each sample 25, 50, 75, and 100 µM |
72 h 25, 50, 75, and 100 µM |
No DNA damage was observed with any of the AgNPs-citrate concentrations employed. Increase in tail DNA was recorded after exposure to AgNPs-PVP at 100 μM concentration. AgNPs-CTAB produces DNA damage only with 50 μM concentration. | [26] |
| Tecomella undulata (Roxb.) Seem. | NR | NR | 16 days (384 h) 30, 60, and 120 mg/L |
More than 30 mg/L of AgNPs decreases ACS expression levels |
[27] |
| Solanum lycopersicum L. | Commercial Sigma-Aldrich (Catalog number 576832) Nanopowder, size: <100 nm, PVP as dispersant, purity: 99.5% trace metal basis |
NR | 14 days (336 h) 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg/L |
GTS decreases as AgNPs concentration increases. | [28] |
| Lathyrus sativus L. | Synthesis. All have shown spherical shape AgNPsI: AgNO3 + extract. 14 ± 5.4 nm AgNPsII: AgNO3 + TSC+ extract. 19.2 ± 6.6 nm AgNPsIII: AgNO3 + TSC + PVPV + extract. 18.8 ± 6.6 nm AgNPsIV: AgNO3 + TSC + PVP + extract. 44.6 ± 13.2 nm |
NR | Exposure for 3 h and recovery time of 4, 8, 12, and 24 h 1, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/L |
Authors report that all AgNPs induce genotoxic effects from the concentration of 1 mg/L, with exception of AgNPsIV which induced genotoxicity only at the higher concentration of 40 mg/L. | [29] |
NR: no reported; ICP-EOS: inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry; ICP-MS: inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; PVP: poly(vinylpyrrolidone); PVPP: polyvinyl polypyrrolidone; TSC: trisodium citrate; CTAB: Cetyl trimethylammonium bromide; PEG: poly(ethylene glycol); MN: micronuclei; CA: chromosomic aberrations which include chromatin bridges, stickiness, disturbed metaphase, multiple chromosomal breaks. AFLP: Amplified fragment length polymorphism; ISSR: Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat; ACS: 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase; GTS: Genome template stability.