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The Food Matrix and the Gastrointestinal Fluids Alter the Features of Silver Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Laloux Laurie,
Kastrati Donika,
Cambier Sébastien,
Gutleb Arno C.,
Schneider YvesJacques
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201907687
Subject(s) - silver nanoparticle , gastrointestinal tract , ingestion , nanoparticle , chemistry , matrix (chemical analysis) , digestion (alchemy) , nanotechnology , intestinal epithelium , functional food , biophysics , food science , chemical engineering , materials science , biology , biochemistry , epithelium , chromatography , engineering , genetics
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are used in the agri‐food sector, which can lead to their ingestion. Their interaction with food and their passage through the gastrointestinal tract can alter their properties and influence their fate upon ingestion. Therefore, this study aims at developing an in vitro method to follow the fate of AgNPs in the gastrointestinal tract. After incorporation of AgNPs into a standardized food matrix, a precolonic digestion is simulated and AgNPs are characterized by different techniques. The presence of food influences the AgNPs properties by forming a corona around nanoparticles. Even if the salivary step does not impact significantly the AgNPs, the pH decrease and the digestive enzymes induce the agglomeration of AgNPs during the gastric phase, while the addition of intestinal fluids disintegrates these clusters. AgNPs can thus reach the intestinal cells under nanometric form, although the presence of food and gastrointestinal fluids modifies their properties compared to pristine AgNPs. They can form a corona around the nanoparticles and act as colloidal stabilizer, which can impact the interaction of AgNPs with intestinal epithelium. This study demonstrates the importance of taking the fate of AgNPs in the gastrointestinal tract into account to perform an accurate risk assessment of nanomaterials.