Figure 3.

Continuous exposure to AgNPs or silver ions generates imminent bioaccumulation in major organs, specifically in the lungs. AgNPs will interact with the different biological components existing in the lungs, facilitating the formation of protein corona and biodistribution. Once inside, AgNPs exert a cytotoxic effect through a Trojan horse-type mechanism for uncoated or non-stable coating agents or a different mechanism when the coating agent is most stable or at a high concentration. It could generate ROS overproduction, transcriptional reprogramming, and apoptosis mediated mainly by the p53 pathway. This image summarizes the proposed cytotoxic mechanism of AgNPs within the lungs.