In recent years , the use of colloidal silver to treat certain diseases has spread , but its intake is prohibited in some countries such as the US, as it can be harmful to health.
Recently, a team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute in Germany confirmed in a study that silver nanoparticles are clearly toxic when they enter cells , but that the number of toxic radicals they generate can be reduced by coating them with carbohydrates (sugars).
Silver salts have been applied for centuries as an external use for their antiseptic properties for the treatment of some ailments and as disinfectants of the surfaces of materials . Currently, silver nanoparticles are used to make homemade potions to fight infections and diseases such as cancer and AIDS, although sometimes all they do is produce argyria or bluish skin.
The health authorities of many countries warn that there is no scientific evidence to support the therapeutic efficacy of colloidal silver and, as we have said, that product is even prohibited in the United States since many studies corroborate its toxicity at the cellular level. The one prepared by the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces (Germany), recently published in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology , coincides with the idea that when silver nanoparticles enter cells they cause serious damage and that their toxicity is basically due to stress oxidative that they originate.
In the research, the team has analyzed the action of different carbohydrates on the surface of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NP) of about 50 nanometers, which have been introduced into cultures of hepatocytes and tumor cells of the nervous system of mice. The results reveal that the toxic effects of Ag-NP are much greater if they are coated with glucose instead of galactose or mannose .
Although all the details about the complex toxicological mechanisms are not known, it is known that nanoparticles use a Trojan horse mechanism to circumvent membrane defenses and penetrate the interior of the cell. The data confirm that the different carbohydrate coatings modulate the impact , which is of great interest to try to control their toxicity or to design future treatments.
Silver nanoparticles are not only used to make home remedies. They are also increasingly being incorporated into drugs such as vaccines, and into clothing and cleaning cloths.
