Characterization of synthesized silver nanoparticles and assessment of its genotoxicity potentials using the alkaline comet assay

Nano-silver (Nano-Ag) particles were synthesized and then characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffractometry. TEM showed that Nano-Ag were spherical in shape and their size ranged from 40 to 60 nm. X-ray diffractometry indicated that the sample was crystalline and had a face centered cubic structure of pure silver. Genotoxicity of this Nano-Ag was evaluated in human peripheral blood cells using the alkaline comet assay. Results indicated that Nano-Ag (50 and 100 mu g/mL) caused DNA damage following a 3 h treatment. Subsequently, a short treatment of 5 min also showed DNA damage. In conclusion, we have shown that the synthesized Nano-Ag induced DNA damage in human peripheral blood cells as detected by the alkaline comet assay. Results further indicated that treatment of cells with Nano-Ag in the presence of hydrogen peroxide did not induce any DNA damage. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.