Acute and chronic toxicity of amine-functionalized SiO nanostructures toward Daphnia magna.

Silicon oxide (SiO) nanostructures (SiONS) are increasingly being incorporated into an array of products, notably in the food, pharmaceutical, medical industries and in water treatment systems. Amorphous SiONS have low toxicity, however, due to their great versatility, superficial modifications can be made and these altered structures require toxicological investigation. In this study, SiONS were synthetized and amine-functionalized with the molecules (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTMS) and 3-[2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethylamino]propyltrimethoxysilane (AEAEAPTMS), named SiONS@1 and SiONS@3, respectively.

Investigation of toxicological effects of amorphous silica nanostructures with amine-functionalized surfaces on Vero cells.

Amorphous silica (SiO) nanostructures are described in the literature as having low toxicity and are widely used in many industrial products. However, surface modifications, such as amine-functionalization, can result in increased cytotoxicity. In this study, amorphous SiO nanostructures (SiO NS) were synthesized and amine-functionalized with two different amine molecules: primary (SiO NS@1) and tri-amine (SiO NS@3).