Accumulation of silver from drinking water into cerebellum and musculus soleus in mice

doi:10.1016/S0300-483X(02)00743-6

Toxicology

Volume 186, Issues 1–2, 15 April 2003, Pages 151-157

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0300-483X(02)00743-6 Get rights and content

Abstract

In spite of the general toxicity, ecotoxicity and sparsely known metabolism of silver, WHO allows silver ions (Ag) up to 0.1 mg/l in drinking water disinfection. In order to determine the accumulation and distribution of silver in a mammalian body, mice were given for 1 and 2 weeks drinking water containing a 3-fold lower concentration, namely 0.03 mg/l silver ions as silver nitrate labelled with ^110mAg. The silver concentrations in different tissues were analysed by gamma radioactivity. The saturation of tissues with silver seems to occur quickly, as there were no statistical differences between silver contents of mice tissues in spite of the study design that mice were administered silver for 1 or 2 weeks. The highest concentrations were found in musculus soleus (m. soleus), cerebellum, spleen, duodenum, and myocardial muscle in the rank order. Concentrations of silver in musculus gastrocnemius (m. gastrocnemius) were found to correlate negatively with cerebrum and positively with blood and kidneys. The accumulation of silver into organs and tissues important in motor functions may be of relevance especially in emergency and catastrophe situations in which accurate motor functions may be critical. A re-evaluation of the present recommendations on the use of silver salts for disinfection of drinking water might be necessary.

Introduction

Silver salts are allowed as disinfectants of drinking water in ships, military actions etc. (EEC, 1980), so that the use of silver can last days or weeks and a possible accumulation could happen. Elementary silver or silver ions are used as active compounds in many different household water filters advertised for instance by Internet for catastrophe areas. Silver is considered toxic for humans and the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) permit maximal concentrations of 0.1 mg/l of silver ions in drinking water disinfection (WHO, 1996) but EPA (1980) recommends maximally 0.05 mg/l.

Silver is known to accumulate from water in many organisms such as brown algae (Sjöblom and Ojala, 1981), shellfish (Smith et al., 1986, George et al., 1986, Topcuoğlu et al., 1987) and fish (Garnier and Baudin, 1990, Grosell and Wood, 2001, Webb and Wood, 2002). Silver nitrate is absorbed through the lung and mucous membranes (WHO, 1996). Silver ion is transported in blood and bound into globulins (EPA, 1980). Most accumulation has been reported to occur in mammalian liver, skin and fur (Furchner et al., 1968, Beresford, 1989, Saeki et al., 2001). The systemic toxicity of silver is not well documented when silver compounds are used in wound repair treatments (Lansdown, 2002). A major part of original animal tests used for the toxicity evaluation for WHO Guidelines for drinking water disinfection by silver has been made between 1940s and 1970s (WHO, 1996). Because analysis technique and toxicology have developed and got new tools since those days, there is a need to re-evaluate those animal tests.

Silver ions are able to pass the blood–brain barrier and cerebrospinal fluid–brain barrier (Rungby, 1990). For example, in rats silver is found, e.g. in the hypothalamic neurons (Stoltenberg et al., 1994) disturbing hippocampus development (Rungby, 1990).

Silver has been reported to affect lipid peroxidation in rat liver, but not in kidney and brain (Rungby, 1990). Cardiac necroses and decrease of blood glutathione peroxidase has been reported in silver treated swine (Van Vleet and Ferrans, 1992). Toop et al. (1982) have reported an accumulation of silver in active myofibrils of cats.

Due to its microbicidal effects in water peroral silver also affects intestinal microbes (Kalachniuk et al., 1994) and potentially provokes gastrointestinal disorders. Silver compounds are known to decrease the creatine clearance, which may be due to its potential nephrotoxicity (Rosenman et al., 1987).

This study was made in order to measure the possible accumulation of silver from drinking water into tissues in male mice, because drinking waters not treated with silver contain only very little or ‘non-detectable’ amounts of silver (EPA, 1980), so that possible accumulation of silver from permanent drinking water is not reported.

Section snippets

Methods

Male outbreed NIH/S mice (10–12 weeks old, weight 23–26 g, National Institute of Health, Kuopio, Finland) were used. Before the start of the experiment the mice were adapted for 1 week to live alone in metabolic cages (Scanbur A/S, Denmark) in regulated environment with a temperature of 21±1 °C, relative air humidity of 50±20%, with 15–20 air changes per h, and a 12-h light:12-h dark cycle. The metabolic cages were cleaned once a week. Five mice received ^110mAg labelled (specific radioactivity

Results

All animals survived the 1 or 2 weeks period of drinking silver nitrate treated water without any observable external signs of disturbed health equally to the controls. The concentrations of silver in the mice tissues have been given in Table 1. Pooled data for the 1 and 2 weeks’ experiment are also given, since there were no differences between silver concentrations of the tissues after 1 and 2 weeks. The statistical evaluation of differences between tissue concentrations is based on the

Discussion

Silver accumulated in mice especially into cerebellum and m. soleus. The accumulation to m. soleus has not been reported earlier. The silver contents of human corpses have been found to follow the descending order: skin, liver, adrenals, brain, thyroid, caecum, ovary and trachea (Humphreys and Routledge, 1998). Silver concentrations in different human tissues including brain tissues showed, anyhow, a great (more than 100-fold) variation and the silver concentrations of female tissues were

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Kai Tuovinen for help with animal tests and for discussions and Jaana Leskinen for radioactivity measurings.

References (52)

J. Alexander et al.
Hepatobiliary transport and organ distribution of silver in the rat as influenced by selenite
Toxicology
(1981)
N.A. Beresford
The transfer of Ag-110m to sheep tissues
Sci. Total Environ.
(1989)
D.G. Brunder et al.
Heavy metal-induced Ca²⁺ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum
J. Biol. Chem.
(1988)
W.A. Day et al.
Silver deposition in mouse glomeruli
Pathology
(1976)
G. Drasch et al.
Silver concentrations in human tissues. Their dependence on dental amalgam and other factors
J. Trace Elem. Med. Biol.
(1995)
S.G. George et al.
Biochemical and ultrastructural observations of long-term silver accumulation in the mussel, Mytilus edulis
Mar. Environ. Res.
(1986)
G.W. Gould et al.
Silver ions trigger Ca²⁺ release by interaction with the (Ca²⁺–Mg²⁺)-ATPase
J. Biol. Chem.
(1987)
S.R. Hanson et al.
Transport of silver in virgin and lactating rats and relation to copper
J. Trace Elem. Med. Biol.
(2001)
B. Hultberg et al.
Copper ions differ from other thiol reactive metal ions in their effects on the concentrations and redox status of thiols in HeLa cell cultures
Toxicology
(1997)
S. Iwasaki et al.
Elimination study of silver in a hemodialyzed burn patient treated with silver sulfadiazine cream
Am. J. Kidney Dis.
(1997)

M.J. Moutin et al.

Rapid Ag⁺-induced release of Ca²⁺ from sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles of skeletal muscle. A rapid filtration study

Biochim. Biophys. Acta

(1989)

K. Nihonyanagi et al.

Gold ion inhibits silver ion induced contracture and activates ryanodine receptors in skeletal muscle

Eur. J. Pharmacol.

(1996)

K. Saeki et al.

Accumulation of silver in the liver of three species of pinnipeds

Environ. Pollut.

(2001)

N. Sugawara et al.

Effect of silver on ceruloplasmin synthesis in relation to low-molecular-weight protein

Toxicol. Lett.

(1984)

J. Toop et al.

2-Deoxyglucose autoradiography of single motor units: labelling of individual acutely active muscle fibers

Neurosci. Methods

(1982)

S. Topcuoğlu et al.

Factors affecting the accumulation and elimination of silver (^110mAg) in marine isopods

Mar. Environ. Res.

(1987)

S.A. Warmington et al.

A method for measuring sarcoplasmic reticulum uptake in the skeletal muscle using Fura-2

Cell Calcium

(1996)

A. Anjo et al.

Long-term alloxan diabetes in the rat. Study of mesangial cell morphology by serial biopsies

Pathol. Eur.

(1976)

T. Aoki et al.

Involvement of thiols in the induction of inward current induced by silver in frog skeletal muscle membrane

Experientia

(1993)

M. Atalay et al.

Skeletal muscle and heart antioxidant defences in response to sprint training

Acta Physiol. Scand.

(1996)

N.A. Beresford et al.

Dynamic behaviour of ^110mAg in sheep tissues

Health Phys.

(1994)

R.S. Black et al.

Influence of silver, mercury, lead, cadmium and selenium on glutathione peroxidase and transferase activities in rats

Biol. Trace Elem. Res.

(1979)

G. Danscher

Light and electron microscopic localisation of silver in biological tissue

Histochemistry

(1981)

EEC, 1980. European Economic Community, ECE 80/778/ECE. Drinking water...

EPA, 1980. Ambient water quality criteria for silver. Washington, DC. EPA...

J.E. Furchner et al.

Comparative metabolism of radionuclides in mammals. IV. Retention of silver-110m in the mouse, rat, monkey, and dog

Health Phys.

(1968)

Cited by (50)

Transport pathway of the Ag+ following artificial precipitation enhancement activities
2024, Heliyon
Artificial precipitation enhancement (APE) activities have been applied extensively around the world to enhance water resources. However, the transport way of the silver iodide catalyst utilized remains completely unknown. To address this issue, in this study, we monitored the content of silver ions (Ag⁺) in a water body under the influence of APE for a period of 16 years (2004–2019). Additionally, we monitored the content of silver ions in the multi-period rainfall and soil. Our findings indicate that after the APE operation, the detected silver content in the precipitation initially demonstrated an upward trend and then decreased to 0. Furthermore, we observed that some of the silver ions remained in the air for a period extending from the time of artificial rain till the next rain. The silver ion content in the soil during the flood season was elevated by 44 % in comparison to the non-operation period; the concentration of silver ions in the water body during the operation period was 42.86 % higher than that in the non-operation period. During the long-term study, spanning 16 years, the water body played a leading role in regulating the content of silver ions released by the APE, resulting in an increase in silver ion content by 3.3 %. Our results revealed the presence of silver in the precipitation after the APE operation, indicating that silver iodide initially entered the precipitation after catalysis. Furthermore, upon the comparison of the soil and surface water during the operation period and non-operation period, the silver content during the operation period was observed to be higher than that in the non-operation period, indicating that silver iodide was incorporated into the underlying surface from the precipitation. Therefore, we have concluded that the transport pathway of silver involves its initial entry into precipitation after sowing, subsequently descending with the precipitation to reach the soil and surface water. The findings of this study establish a scale ruler for the impact of increasing global APE activities on the environment, as well as first-hand data for preventing possible future environmental risks.
Preparation of porous CuS/modified-diatomite composite via a facile in situ loading process for efficient recovery of silver ion from aqueous solution
2024, Applied Surface Science
The study on the recovery of silver ion (Ag⁺) from silver-containing wastewater is of great significance to heavy metal pollution control and noble metal retrieval. In this work, a porous CuS/modified-diatomite composite was prepared via a pre-modification followed by a mild in situ coating process. A layer of CuS nanosheets was evenly coated onto pre-modified diatomite, and porosity of the diatomite support reserved. Aperture analysis results suggested that the composite possessed a broader porous distribution, higher specific surface area and pore volume than pure CuS. The neosynthetic composite exhibited outstanding adsorption performance for Ag⁺, according to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 822.7 mg/g for Ag⁺, approximately 84 times greater than that of raw diatomite (9.87 mg/g). The highest removal efficiency of the composite for Ag⁺ reached 99.9 %, and pH values (3–8) and coexisting ions (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺) had little influence on the removal of Ag⁺. Kinetic studies and adsorption product analysis demonstrated that removal of Ag⁺ on the composite was occupied by chemisorption, arising from that the abundant porosity of diatomite support prompts Ag⁺ to diffuse onto the composite, and the uniformly coated CuS nanosheets provide abundant active sites for Ag⁺ chemisorption.
Development and analysis of a universal label-free micro/nano component for three-channel detection of silver ions, mercury ions, and tetracycline
2023, Analytica Chimica Acta
In this paper, an enzyme-free and label-free fluorescent nanomodule is proposed for rapid, simple and sensitive detection of Ag⁺, Hg²⁺ and tetracycline (TC). The strategy is cleverly designed to enable multiple-purpose detection with as little as 31 nt of ssDNA. Both the embedded dye SYBR Green I and the nanomaterial graphene oxide (GO) are able to distinguish single-stranded DNA from double-stranded DNA; thus, the combination of the two instead of using traditional molecular beacon (MB)-labeled fluorophores and quencher groups can effectively reduce the cost of experiments while efficiently reducing the background noise. Performance testing experiments confirmed the stability and selectivity of the platform; the limits of detection (LODs) of Ag⁺ and Hg²⁺ were 1.41 nM and 1.79 nM, respectively, and the detection range were within the WHO standards. In addition, only some base sequences in the flexible functional domain of the nanoloop needed to be programmed to build a universal platform, which was feasible using TC as a target. Therefore, the designed nanomodule has the potential to detect various types of targets, such as antibiotics, proteins, and target genes, and has broad application prospects in environmental monitoring, food testing, and disease diagnosis.
Development of a new near-infrared, spectrophotometric, and colorimetric probe based on phthalocyanine containing mercaptoquinoline unit for discriminative and highly sensitive detection of Ag+, Cu2+, and Hg2+ ions
2023, Spectrochimica Acta - Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy
A new near-infrared, spectrophotometric, and colorimetric probe based on a phthalocyanine-containing mercaptoquinoline unit (MQZnPc) has been constructed and utilized for discriminative and highly selective/sensitive detection of Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, and Hg²⁺ ions by using proper masking agents like EDTA, KI, and NaCl. The probe only responds to Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, and Hg²⁺ among the tested ions without any interference. The probe performs quite well (the limit of detection: 160 ppb, 148 ppb, and 276 ppb of Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, and Hg²⁺ions for UV–Vis, and 15 ppb, 37 ppb, and 467 ppb of Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, and Hg²⁺ ions for fluorescence, respectively), and has a fast response time (150 sec, 90 sec, and 90 sec of Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, and Hg²⁺ions for UV–Vis, and 300 sec, 240 sec, and 90 sec Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, and Hg²⁺ions for fluorescence, respectively). The probe also displays a colorimetric feature for UV–Vis and smartphone applications. Based on a single probe, Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, and Hg²⁺ ions which are the main toxic water contaminants could be recognized very quickly and colorimetrically with high recovery values in tap water samples. This study stands out with its unique properties compared to the related studies in the literature.
Comparison of antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles and silver-loaded montmorillonite and saponite
2023, Applied Clay Science
Although silver nanoparticles are known for their antibacterial activity, little research has been carried out on what synthesis method provides the most effective particles. In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesised via chemical reduction by using silver nitrate as the silver precursor, ascorbic acid as the reducing agent and sodium citrate as the stabilising agent. The solutions were adjusted to several pH values employing sodium hydroxide, citric acid or nitric acid. Dynamic light scattering and absorption spectra in the ultraviolet/visible region characterisation revealed that employing nitric acid to adjust the pH produced more varied and larger silver particle sizes. Then, silver nanoparticles were supported on montmorillonite and saponite through wet impregnation or ion exchange methods. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy characterisation confirmed that silver nanoparticles were successfully loaded onto the clay minerals. Next, the antibacterial activity of the samples was evaluated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by determining their minimum inhibitory concentrations and minimum bactericidal concentrations. The free silver nanoparticles did not show any antibacterial activity at 125 mg/L. In contrast, the silver-loaded samples obtained by wet impregnation and with a higher silver content displayed the strongest antibacterial effect. Finally, the cytotoxicity of the samples was determined in GM07492-A cell line by using an XTT colorimetric assay. The calculated IC₅₀ values revealed that the supported silver nanoparticles were barely toxic. Thus, the silver-loaded clay minerals obtained here are promising antibacterial materials with a high-grade safety profile.
Ultrasensitive detection of silver(I) ions based on water-soluble micellized phosphorescent silver nanoclusters co-protected by 1,3-benzenedithiol and triphenylphosphine
2022, Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical
Citation Excerpt :
As one of the most valuable and precious metal elements on the earth, metallic silver and ionic silver (Ag+) are extensively applied in modern industry and daily life, particularly in the fields of electronic equipment, photography, biomedicine, and disinfection [1–4]. However, silver ion is one of the most toxic and dangerous heavy metal pollutants, which can cause irreversible and permanent damage to the respiratory, urinary and central nervous system, thereby endangering the environment and human health [1–4]. Moreover, the widespread and excessive use of silver inevitably leads to the increasing release of silver content in the environment, and thus aggravates the harm to the surrounding environment and organisms [1–4].
Silver ion (Ag⁺) is one of the most toxic and dangerous heavy metal pollutants. Therefore, finding a simple, sensitive and selective approach to detect Ag⁺ is very urgent for environmental protection and risk reduction to human health. In this work, water-soluble red-emitting micellized phosphorescent silver nanoclusters (Ag₂₉ @Na micelles) with a large stokes shift of 380 nm are prepared and used as sensitive and selective phosphorescent probes to realize the rapid and simple detection of Ag⁺. Upon adding Ag⁺, the phosphorescence of Ag₂₉ @Na micelles is quenching, and the phosphorescence quenching ratio is linearly proportional to the Ag⁺ concentration over the range from 1 nM to 100 nM with the detection limit of 0.8 nM (S/N = 3). The Ag₂₉ @Na micelles exhibit high selectivity for Ag⁺ over other potentially interfering metal ions. The quenching mechanism of Ag₂₉ @Na micelles by Ag⁺ is studied in details using various analytical characterizations including UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence lifetime, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and zeta potential, and the results denote that the aggregation between Ag₂₉ @Na micelles and Ag⁺ is responsible for the phosphorescence quenching. The Ag₂₉ @Na micelles-based phosphorescence probes are successfully applied to detect Ag⁺ in lake water samples with good recoveries of 98 %−108 %.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Accumulation of silver from drinking water into cerebellum and musculus soleus in mice

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Methods

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Toxicology

Sci. Total Environ.

J. Biol. Chem.

Pathology

J. Trace Elem. Med. Biol.

Mar. Environ. Res.

J. Biol. Chem.

J. Trace Elem. Med. Biol.

Toxicology

Am. J. Kidney Dis.

Biochim. Biophys. Acta

Eur. J. Pharmacol.

Environ. Pollut.

Toxicol. Lett.

Neurosci. Methods

Mar. Environ. Res.

Cell Calcium

Long-term alloxan diabetes in the rat. Study of mesangial cell morphology by serial biopsies

Pathol. Eur.

Involvement of thiols in the induction of inward current induced by silver in frog skeletal muscle membrane

Experientia

Skeletal muscle and heart antioxidant defences in response to sprint training

Acta Physiol. Scand.

Dynamic behaviour of 110mAg in sheep tissues

Health Phys.

Influence of silver, mercury, lead, cadmium and selenium on glutathione peroxidase and transferase activities in rats

Biol. Trace Elem. Res.

Light and electron microscopic localisation of silver in biological tissue

Histochemistry

Comparative metabolism of radionuclides in mammals. IV. Retention of silver-110m in the mouse, rat, monkey, and dog

Health Phys.

Dynamic behaviour of ^110mAg in sheep tissues