Synthesis, toxicity evaluation and determination of possible mechanisms of antimicrobial effect of arabinogalactane-capped selenium nanoparticles.

Background: The elemental selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) find application in biology and medicine due to wide spectrum of their biological activity combined with low toxicity. For instance, SeNPs are promising antimicrobial agents for plant treatment against the bacterial phytopathogen Clavibacter michiganensis sepedonicus (Cms). Careful characterization of possible mechanisms of antimicrobial action of SeNPs as well as the assessment of their biosafety for plant and animal organisms represents urgent challenge.