Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are rapidly displacing the current technology for touchscreen displays, and additional AgNW applications are becoming available in the form of solar cells and conformational electronics like OLED displays. Despite a push to understand the impacts of engineered nanomaterials on human and environmental health, there is a lack of knowledge regarding AgNW toxicity to biological systems, as the high aspect ratio of AgNWs is expected to alter transport and toxicity relative to spherical silver nanoparticles. This project used RTgillW1 and RTgutGC cell lines to probe specific characteristics of AgNWs that make them more or less toxic to organisms. AgNWs were synthesized with a variety of lengths, diameters, and surface chemistries. Cells were seeded at a density of 4,000 cells per well in 384 well plates and exposed to AgNWs (0-25 µg/mL) for different periods of time (4, 12, 24, and 48 hours). AgNO3 was used as a positive control. Cytotoxicity was measured by nuclear morphology, plasma membrane and cytoskeleton integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, H2AX DNA damage, ROS generation, lysosome pH and mass, and apoptosis. Changes in cellular bioenergetics (glycolysis, aerobic metabolism, mitochondrial function) were measured using a SF Series Seahorse Instrument. Results indicate that AgNWs exhibit altered patterns of transport, cellular uptake, and asbestos-like toxic injury due to the high aspect ratio of the nanowires. Both short and long nanowires were internalized by the cells and induced cytotoxicity; however, long nanowires generated slightly higher levels of ROS and apoptosis-related events compared to short nanowires. Surface chemistry and media conditions were also found to influence toxicity. Future work will explore whole organism toxicity of AgNWs on rainbow trout larvae, and investigate the underlying mechanisms of AgNW toxicity on rainbow trout larvae using RNAseq and computational technologies.

Impact of silver nanowire length and diameter on rainbow trout RTgillW1 and RTgutGC cell lines

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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