• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2017

Objective: Microbial aggregation around dental implants can lead to loss/loosening of the implants. This study was aimed at surface treating titanium microimplants with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to achieve antibacterial properties. Methods: AgNP-modified titanium microimplants (Ti-nAg) were prepared using two methods. The first method involved coating the microimplants with regular AgNPs (Ti-AgNP) and the second involved coating them with a AgNP-coated biopolymer (Ti-BP-AgNP). The topologies, microstructures, and chemical compositions of the surfaces of the Ti-nAg were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Disk diffusion tests using Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans were performed to test the antibacterial activity of the Ti-nAg microimplants. Results: SEM revealed that only a meager amount of AgNPs was sparsely deposited on the Ti-AgNP surface with the first method, while a layer of AgNP-coated biopolymer extended along the Ti-BP-AgNP surface in the second method. The diameters of the coated nanoparticles were in the range of 10 to 30 nm. EDS revealed 1.05 atomic % of Ag on the surface of the Ti-AgNP and an astounding 21.2 atomic % on the surface of the Ti-BP-AgNP. XPS confirmed the metallic state of silver on the Ti-BP-AgNP surface. After 24 hours of incubation, clear zones of inhibition were seen around the Ti-BP-AgNP microimplants in all three test bacterial culture plates, whereas no antibacterial effect was observed with the Ti-AgNP microimplants. Conclusions: Titanium microimplants modified with Ti-BP-AgNP exhibit excellent antibacterial properties, making them a promising implantable biomaterial.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.403-408
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• 2012

Gelatin/Ag nanoparticle (AgNP) biocomposite was synthesized using the solution plasma process (SPP) that has been recently introduced as an effective method for synthesis of nanoparticles. In this study, gelatin/AgNP biocomposite was synthesized using various concentrations of Ag precursor ($AgNO_3$) and gelatin in the range of 1-5 mM and 1-3% (w/w), respectively, without using any chemical reducing agent. Physical properties of the gelatin/AgNP biocomposites were analyzed using EDS, FE-SEM, and TEM. The results indicated that spherical AgNPs with approximately 12~20 nm in diameter were synthesized successfully in the gelatin matrix by SPP. As the concentration of gelatin was increased (3%, w/w), disperse stability of AgNP was improved and micro-pores of gelatin became smaller and denser in the 3D scaffold. Bactericidal activity of the AgNPs was examined against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli by measuring zone of growth inhibition and decrease in colony forming unit (CFU). CFUs of S. aureus and E. coli were decreased approximately to 56% and 0%, respectively, by the gelatin/AgNP biocomposite, Ag5G3.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.1114-1119
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• 2012

This study was conducted to assess the microbial toxicity of ionic silver solution ($Ag^+N$) and silver nanoparticle suspension ($Ag^0NP$) based on the Microtox bioassay. In this test, the light inhibition of luminescent bacteria was measured after 15 and 30 min exposure to aqueous solutions and soils spiked with a dilution series of $Ag^+N$ and $Ag^0NP$. The resulting dose-response curves were used to derive effective concentration (EC25, $EC_{50}$, EC75) and effective dose ($ED_{25}$, $ED_{50}$, $ED_{75}$) that caused a 25, 50 and 75% inhibition of luminescence. In aqueous solutions, $EC_{50}$ value of $Ag^+N$ after 15 min exposure was determined to be < $2mg\;L^{-1}$ and remarkably lower than $EC_{50}$ value of $Ag^0NP$ with $251mg\;L^{-1}$. This revealed that $Ag^+N$ was more toxic to luminescent bacteria than $Ag^0NP$. In soil extracts, however, $ED_{50}$ value of $Ag^+N$ with 196 mg kg-1 was higher than $ED_{50}$ value of $Ag^0NP$ with $104mg\;kg^{-1}$, indicating less toxicity of $Ag^+N$ in soils. The reduced toxicity of $Ag^+N$ in soils can be attributed to a partial adsorption of ionic $Ag^+$ on soil colloids and humic acid as well as a partial formation of insoluble AgCl with NaCl of Microtox diluent. This resulted in lower concentration of active Ag in soil extracts obtained after 1 hour shaking with $Ag^+N$ than that spiked with $Ag^0NP$. With longer exposure time, EC and ED values of both $Ag^+N$ and $Ag^0NP$ decreased, so their toxicity increased. The toxic characteristics of silver nanomaterials were different depending on existing form of Ag ($Ag^+$, $Ag^0$), reaction medium (aqueous solution, soil), and exposure time.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.218-227
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• 2015

A prerequisite for precise quantification of nanomaterials contained in environmental samples is to prepare suitable preservation conditions of samples. This study was initiated to suggest preservation conditions of aqueous samples for analyses of metal nanomaterials. Variation in the size of silver nanomaterial (cit-AgNP) was observed according to change in various conditions, such as pH, electrolyte concentration, temperature, nanomaterial concentration, and time. Aggregation of AgNP was characterized for each environmental condition, and finally proper preservation conditions of samples were proposed based on experimental results on AgNP aggregation. In addition, the preservation period of sample was computed by the doublet time of AgNP. The results indicate that the aggregation rate of cit-AgNP was close to 0 at the conditions of pH of ${\geq}7$, electrolyte ($Ca(NO_3)_2$) concentration of ${\leq}3mM$, temperature of $4^{\circ}C$, and cit-AgNP concentration of ${\leq}2mg/L$. Furthermore, the experimental results on doublet time of cit-AgNP suggest that maximum preservation period was evaluated to be 15.79~17.53 days when the concentration of 100 nm cit-AgNP is assumed to be $1{\mu}g/L$ which is considered as an environmentally-relevant concentration of engineered nanomaterials. Our results suggest that samples should be preserved at $4^{\circ}C$ and analyzed within 2 weeks.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.493-493
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• 2014

The manufacturing cost of thin-film photovoltics can potentially be lowered by minimizing the amount of a semiconductor material used to fabricate devices. Thin-film solar cells are typically only a few micrometers thick, whereas crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafer solar cells are $180{\sim}300\mu}m$ thick. As such, thin-film layers do not fully absorb incident light and their energy conversion efficiency is lower compared with that of c-Si wafer solar cells. Therefore, effective light trapping is required to realize commercially viable thin-film cells, particularly for indirect-band-gap semiconductors such as c-Si. An emerging method for light trapping in thin film solar cells is the use of metallic nanostructures that support surface plasmons. Plasmon-enhanced light absorption is shown to increase the cell photocurrent in many types of solar cells, specifically, in c-Si thin-film solar cells and in poly-Si thin film solar cell. By proper engineering of these structures, light can be concentrated and coupled into a thin semiconductor layer to increase light absorption. In many cases, silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NP) are formed either on the front surface or on the rear surface on the cells. In case of poly-Si thin film solar cells, Ag NPs are formed on the rear surface of the cells due to longer wavelengths are not perfectly absorbed in the active layer on the first path. In our cells, shorter wavelengths typically 300~500 nm are also not effectively absorbed. For this reason, a new concept of plasmonic nanostructure which is NPs formed both the front - and the rear - surface is worth testing. In this simulation Al NPs were located onto glass because Al has much lower parasitic absorption than other metal NPs. In case of Ag NP, it features parasitic absorption in the optical frequency range. On the other hand, Al NP, which is non-resonant metal NP, is characterized with a higher density of conduction electrons, resulting in highly negative dielectric permittivity. It makes them more suitable for the forward scattering configuration. In addition to this, Ag NP is located on the rear surface of the cell. Ag NPs showed good performance enhancement when they are located on the rear surface of our cells. In this simulation, Al NPs are located on glass and Ag NP is located on the rear Si surface. The structure for the simulation is shown in figure 1. Figure 2 shows FDTD-simulated absorption graphs of the proposed and reference structures. In the simulation, the front of the cell has Al NPs with 70 nm radius and 12.5% coverage; and the rear of the cell has Ag NPs with 157 nm in radius and 41.5% coverage. Such a structure shows better light absorption in 300~550 nm than that of the reference cell without any NPs and the structure with Ag NP on rear only. Therefore, it can be expected that enhanced light absorption of the structure with Al NP on front at 300~550 nm can contribute to the photocurrent enhancement.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1483-1490
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• 2017

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by the citrate reduction process and, with the assistance of n-hydroxysuccinimide and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide, were successfully loaded with the macromolecular drug vancomycin (VAM) to form AgNP-VAM bioconjugates. The synthesized AgNPs, VAM, and AgNP-VAM conjugate were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, zeta potential analysis, confocal microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The effect of loading VAM onto AgNPs was investigated by testing the internalization of the bioconjugate into Mycobacterium smegmatis. After treatment with the AgNP-VAM conjugate, the bacterial cells showed a significant decrease in UV absorption, indicating that loading of the VAM on AgNPs had vastly improved the drug's internalization compared with that of AgNPs. All the experimental assessments showed that, compared with free AgNPs and VAM, enhanced internalization had been successfully achieved with the AgNP-VAM conjugate, thus leading to significantly better delivery of the macromolecular drug into the M. smegmatis cell. The current research provides a new potential drug delivery system for the treatment of mycobacterial infections.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.139-150
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• 2021

In this study, phytochemicals present in Propolis Extract (PE) were employed as reducing and stabilizing reagents to synthesize silver nanoparticles. Three propolis-reduced silver nanoparticles (P-AgNPs1-3) were synthesized using increasing amounts of PE. P-AgNPs were treated with different cancer cells-lung (A549), cervix (HeLa) and colon (WiDr) - for 24, 48 and 72 h to evaluate their anti-proliferative activities. A non-cancerous cell type (L929) was also used to test whether suppressive effects of P-AgNPs on cancer cell proliferation were due to a general cytotoxic effect. The characterization results showed that the bioactive contents in propolis successfully induced particle formation. As the amount of PE increased, the particle size decreased; however, the size distribution range expanded. The antioxidant capacity of the particles increased with increased propolis amounts. P-AgNP1 exhibited almost equal inhibitory effects across all cancer cell types; however, P-AgNP2 was more effective on HeLa cells. P-AgNPs3 showed greater inhibitory effects in almost all cancer cells compared to other NPs and pure propolis. Consequently, the biological effects of P-AgNPs were highly dependent on PE amount, NP concentration, and cell type. These results suggest that AgNPs synthesized utilizing propolis phytochemicals might serve as anti-cancer agents, providing greater efficacy against cancer cells.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.257-270
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• 2019

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely used in a variety of applications in innovative development; consequently, people are more exposed to this particle. Growing concern about toxicity from AgNP exposure has attracted greater attention, while questions about nanosilver-responsive genes and consequences for human health remain unanswered. By considering early detection and prevention of nanotoxicology at the genetic level, this study aimed to identify 1) changes in gene expression levels that could be potential indicators for AgNP toxicity and 2) morphological phenotypes correlating to toxicity of HepG2 cells. To detect possible nanosilver-responsive genes in xenogenic targeted organs, a comprehensive systematic literature review of changes in gene expression in HepG2 cells after AgNP exposure and in silico method, connection up- and down-regulation expression analysis of microarrays (CU-DREAM), were performed. In addition, cells were extracted and processed for transmission electron microscopy to examine ultrastructural alterations. From the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) Series database, we selected genes that were up- and down-regulated in AgNPs, but not up- and down-regulated in silver ion exposed cells, as nanosilver-responsive genes. HepG2 cells in the AgNP-treated group showed distinct ultrastructural alterations. Our results suggested potential representative gene data after AgNPs exposure provide insight into assessment and prediction of toxicity from nanosilver exposure.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.71-75
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• 2012

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been prepared by using aqueous $AgNO_3$ solution in the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels. PVA powders were dissolved in deionized water, and then irradiated by gamma-ray with a radiation dose of 50 kGy to make hydrogels. PVA hydrogels were dipped into 0.01 and 0.05 M $AgNO_3$ solution for 1 h respectively. After that, the swollen hydrogels were irradiated by gamma-ray at various doses to form AgNPs. UV-vis analysis indicated that the concentration of Ag NPs was enhanced by increasing absorbed dose and the concentration of $AgNO_3$. FE-SEM measurements provided further evidence for the successful formation of Ag NPs in PVA hydrogels. Also, the antibacterial effect of PVA hydrogels stabilized AgNPs against Gram-negative bacteria (S.aureus and E.coli) in liquid as well as on solid growth media has been investigated. The AgNPs consolidated in PVA hydrogel networks have an excellent antibacterial effect.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.3191-3195
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• 2012

New silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-loaded amino acid based hydrogels were synthesized successfully from poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(acryl amide-co-acryloyl phenyl alanine) (PAA) by redox polymerization. The formation of AgNP in hydrogels was confirmed by using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer and XRD. The structure and morphology of silver nanocomposite hydrogels were studied by using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which demonstrated scattered nanoparticles, ca. 10-20 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed large differences of weight loss (i.e., 48%) between the prestine hydrogel and silver nanocomposite. The antibacterial studies of AgNP-loaded PAA (Ag-PAA) hydrogels was evaluated against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) bacteria. These Ag-PAA hydrogels showed significant activities against all the test bacteria. Newly developed hydrogels could be used for medical applications, such as artificial burn dressings.