Researchers consider environmental transformations of silver nanoparticles

The review highlights that silver nanoparticles readily transform in the aquatic environment, in particular when the silver particles react with other molecules such as sulphur. The researchers describe how such reactions can alter the physical and chemical stability of the nanoparticles, which in turn affects toxicity.

The authors also identify areas in which research is needed to improve predictions of the environmental impact of silver nanoparticles, which encompasses fundamental molecular-level studies, simplified model systems and experiments under realistic environmental conditions. They also highlight the need for toxicology studies of the chemical products formed following transformation of silver nanoparticles, and for characterisation of the physical properties of the substance to improve solubility and reactivity predictions.