Application of silver

nanoparticles(AgNP) in
developing ROS(reactive
oxygen species) sensors

Topic

-by P.Tushar Jha

(12AG34002)
Guide- Mr S Dutta Gupta Sir

Introduction

Silver nanoparticles(AgNPs)
They are ultrafine clusters of silver atoms,
ranging from 1 nm and 100 nm in size. Owing
to their unique physical, chemical and
biological properties AgNPs have been used
in many fields such as medicine, electronics
and material sciences. The distinctive
electrical and thermal properties AgNPs have
been exploited for developing nanoscale

TEM images of silver

nanoparticles

DPPH(2, 2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl)
It is a dark-colored crystalline powder
composed of stablefree
radicalmolecules. It forms a violet
solution in methanol which has a
characteristic absorbance at 517 nm.
DPPH reacts with antioxidant
molecules and gets reduced to 2,2diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazine which is

DPPH solution with

methanol

Objectives:

To study DPPH radical scavenging activity of AgNPs

To evaluate the electrical properties of AgNP-DPPH
solution
To assess the potential of AgNPs as ROS sensors

Review of literature
Over the past few decades it has been observed that
nanoparticles of noble metals such as silver exhibit
significantly distinct physical, chemical and biological
properties from their bulk counterparts. Nano-size particles
of less than 100nm in diameter are currently attracting
increasing attention for the wide range of new applications
in various fields of industry. Such powders can exhibit
properties that differ substantially from those of bulk
materials, as a result of small particle dimension, high

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive molecules,

ions and free radicals involving an oxygen moiety such as
hydrogen peroxide, superoxide radical and hydroxyl freeradical. ROS are byproducts of various metabolic pathways
operating within the living cells. They play an important role
in pathogen defence and programmed cell death. High ROS
content may induce oxidative stress and damage the cellular
proteins and membranes.

ROS may be produced within the cells in the following ways:

Byproduct of cellular respiration (presence of redox
cycling compounds).
Synthesized by enzyme systems phagocytic cells,
neutrophils

and

macrophage

(NADPH

oxidase,

myeloperoxidases).
Exposure to ionizing radiation and action of harmful/ toxic
substances.

DPPH is a stable free-radical and has been used for

studying the interaction of ROS with various other
substances. DPPH forms an oxidizing solution which may
alter the oxidation state of silver present in the form of
nanoparticles . Studying the electrical properties of
solutions with AgNPs mixed with DPPH may yield a better
insight to developing a reliable method for ROS detection
with the aid of AgNPs.

Materials and methods

Chemicals and reagents

Silver nanoparticle dispersion and DPPH (2-2 di phenyl picryl

hydrazyl)

were

purchased

from

Sigma-Aldrich

(USA).

Methanol was purchased from Sisco Research Laboratories

Pvt. Ltd. (Mumbai, India).

DPPH radical scavenging activity

DPPH radical scavenging activity of AgNPs was studied by

the method of Shimada et al. (1992). Briefly, a 0.3 mM
methanolic

solution

of

DPPH

was

prepared.

Various

concentrations of AgNP dispersions in methanol (25-150

ppm) were made. A 2 ml aliquot of AgNP suspension was
mixed with 1 ml of DPPH solution and incubated for 30
minutes. The absorbance of the mixture was recorded at
517 nm with a Double Beam UV-Vis Spectrophotometer
2202, Systronics India Ltd., Gujarat, India. Reaction mixture

The activity was calculated using the formula:

Activity (%) = (Abs. of negative control Abs. of positive

control)*100
Abs. of negative control

spectrophotometer

Measurement of electrical
conductivity of AgNP-DPPH
solutions
Electrical

conductivity

containing

various

of

solutions

combinations

of

AgNPs (0-75 ppm) and DPPH (0-0.3

mM) were measured by the two-wire
method. The setup was calibrated with
various
chloride,

concentrations
calcium

of

chloride

sodium
and

AgNP-DPPH solution in
methanol

Results

DPPH radical scavenging activity

Increasing the concentration of AgNPs led to higher DPPH

scavenging activity.

Electrical conductivity of AgNP-DPPH solutions

Work to be done

1. Statistical analysis of the results obtained.

2. Mathematical modeling of variability in the conductivity of
AgNP- DPPH solutions.

References

Bhagat, M., Rajput, S., Arya, S., Khan, S., & Lehana, P. Biological and
Electrical Properties of Biosynthesized Silver (Ag) Nanoparticles (2015). Bull.
Mater. Sci., 38(5): 1253-1258.

El-Nour, K. M. A., Eftaiha, A. A., Al-Warthan, A., & Ammar, R. A. (2010).

Synthesis and applications of silver nanoparticles.Arabian journal of
chemistry, 3(3): 135-140.

He, D., Jones, A. M., Garg, S., Pham, A. N., & Waite, T. D. (2011). Silver
nanoparticle reactive oxygen species interactions: application of a
charging discharging model.The Journal of Physical Chemistry C,115(13):
5461-5468.

Jones, A. M., Garg, S., He, D., Pham, A. N., & Waite, T. D. (2011). Superoxidemediated formation and charging of silver nanoparticles. Environmental
Science & Technology,45(4): 1428-1434.

Kim, J. S., Kuk, E., Yu, K. N., Kim, J. H., Park, S. J., Lee, H. J., ... & Cho, M. H.
(2007). Antimicrobial effects of silver nanoparticles.Nanomedicine:
Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine,3(1): 95-101.

Liu, J., & Hurt, R. H. (2010). Ion release kinetics and particle persistence in
aqueous nano-silver colloids.Environmental Science & Technology,44(6):
2169-2175.

Schiefelbein, S. L., Fried, N. A., Rhoads, K. G., & Sadoway, D. R. (1998). A

high-accuracy, calibration-free technique for measuring the electrical
conductivity of liquids.Review of scientific instruments,69(9): 3308-3313.

Thank you