The concentration-dependent aggregation of Ag NPs induced by cystine

- Effect of cystine on the aggregation of AgNPs was investigated
- UV-vis was used to monitor the aggregation behavior of Ag NPs
- Cystine caused aggregation of charge and sterically stabilized AgNPs
- The critical coagulation concentration decreased at lower AgNP concentrations
- The impact of cysteine/cystine on Ag NP behavior in biological/toxicological media should be carefully evaluated

Cystine is widely used in cell culture media. Cysteine, the reduced form of cystine, is widely used to scavenge dissolved Ag in eco-toxicological studies to differentiate dissolved vs. nanoparticle uptake and toxicity. However, little is known about the impact of cysteine and cystine on the aggregation behavior of Ag NPs, in particular as a function of Ag NP concentration. Herein, we investigate how cystine (0-300 μM) affects the stability of citrate-, polyvinylpyrrolidone-, and polyethylene glycol-coated silver nanoparticles (cit-Ag NPs, PVP-Ag NPs and PEG-Ag NPs, respectively) with and without Suwannee River fulvic acid (SRFA) as a function of Ag NPs concentration using UV-vis spectroscopy at environmentally and ecotoxicologically relevant Ag NP concentrations (ca. 125-1000 μg L− 1). The results demonstrate, for the first time, the concentration-dependent aggregation of cit-Ag NPs in the presence of cystine with a shift in the critical coagulation concentration (CCC) to lower cystine concentrations at lower cit-Ag NP concentrations. At the highest cit-Ag NP concentration (1000 μg L− 1), reaction limited aggregation was only observed and no CCC was measured. SRFA slowed the aggregation of cit-Ag NPs by cystine and aggregation occurred in reaction limited aggregation (RLA) regime only. No CCC value was measured in the presence of SRFA. Cystine replaces citrate, PVP and PEG coatings, resulting in aggregation of both electrostatically and sterically stabilized Ag NPs. These findings are important in understanding the factors determining the behavior of Ag NPs in cell culture media. Also due to the similarity between cystine and cysteine, these results are important in understanding the uptake and toxicity of Ag NPs vs. Ag ions, and suggest that the reduction of the toxicity of Ag NPs in the presence of cysteine could be due to a combined effect of scavenging Ag+ ions and Ag NP aggregation in the presence of cysteine.

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