Iron oxide/silver hybrid nanoparticles impair the cholinergic system and cause reprotoxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Iron oxide nanoparticles present superparamagnetic properties that enable their application in various areas, including drug delivery at specific locations in the organism. Silver nanoparticles have potent antimicrobial effects. Although the combination of FeO-NPs and Ag-NPs in one hybrid nanostructure (FeO@Ag-NPs) demonstrated promising targeted biomedical applications, their toxicological effects are unknown and need to be assessed.