The correlation between the chemical nature of capping agents used to prepare colloidal silver dispersions and kinetic characteristics of the process of oxidation of the dispersed phase (spherical silver nanoparticles, 2–50 nm in diameter) by hydrogen peroxide was studied for the first time. The well-pronounced correlation between the oxidative dissolution rate and the biological activity of silver dispersions was revealed with respect to the inhibition of the growth of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. The biological activity of nanosilver dispersions was found to be primarily controlled by the rate of generation of silver ions while the chemical nature of the capping agent defined the rate of generation of silver ions, thus showing an effective way to control the biological action of medications based on silver nanoparticles by varying the nature of the capping agent.

Addition of capping agents like surfactants and polymers during the synthesis of nanoparticles may affect the stability and toxicity of dispersions of nanoparticles. This study revealed the impact of anionic, cationic, and amphoteric surfactants and a cationic polymer on the physical and chemical properties, stability and behavior of silver nanomaterials, as well as on the toxicity of nanosized silver particles with respect to zebrafish embryos. Some of the stabilizers applied were shown to significantly affect embryos of Danio rerio. Colloidal dispersions of stabilized silver nanoparticles were demonstrated to induce a complex mechanism of toxicity with respect to embryos of D. rerio, which is mainly explained by the toxicity of the organic ligand, while other parameters are somewhat inferior. The newly generated data on the toxicity of nanoparticles and their stabilizers with respect to D. rerio embryos reveal the complexity of the toxicity mechanism of nanoparticles impacting living systems.

The biocidal action of silver nanoparticles capped with sodium citrate and silver halides nanoparticles capped with non-ionic surfactant polyoxyethylene(20)sorbitan monooleate (Tween 80®) against yeast cells Saccharomyces cerevisiae was compared to the effect produced by silver nitrate and studied through the measurement of cell loss and kinetics of K+ efflux from the cells. The cytotoxicity of the obtained colloids was strongly correlated with silver ion content in the dispersions. The results clearly indicated that silver and silver halides nanoparticles destroyed yeast cells through the intermediate producing of silver ions either by dissolving of salts or by oxidation of silver.

Silver and silver halides nanoparticles (NPs) (Ag, AgCl, AgBr, and AgI) capped with two different stabilizers (sodium citrate and nonionic surfactant Tween 80) were obtained via sodium borohydride reduction of silver nitrate in an aqueous solution. The effect of the biocidal action of as-prepared synthesized materials against yeast cells Saccharomyces cerevisiae was compared to the effect produced by silver nitrate and studied through the measurement of cell loss and kinetics of K+ efflux from the cells depending on concentration of silver. The results clearly indicate that the silver ions either remained in the dispersion of silver NPs and silver halides NPs after their synthesis or were generated afterwards by dissolving silver and silver halides particles playing a major part in the cytotoxic activity of NPs against yeast cells. It was also supposed that this activity most likely does not relate to the damage of cell membrane.