Abstract
Purpose :
Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have relatively low toxicity among metal nanoparticles and have been reported to exhibit antifibrotic effects on corneal fibroblasts in rabbits. This study aimed to evaluate silver nanoparticles’ toxic and antifibrotic effects on human corneal fibroblasts.
Methods :
Three different sizes of PVP-coated Ag-NPs (10 nm, 50 nm, and 100 nm) were studied. Primary human corneal fibroblasts were incubated for 24 h with Ag-NPs at concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 50 μg/mL. Cell viability was assessed with MTT; 0.1% saponin was used as the positive control. A collagen gel contraction assay was performed to compare contractility activity using concentrations of Ag-NPs that minimally impacted cell viability. The area of each gel was measured 72 hours after Ag-NP treatment. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s test.
Results :
Cell viability was significantly decreased with Ag-NP (10 nm) at ≥25 μg/mL, Ag-NP (50 nm) at 50 μg/mL, and Ag-NP (100 nm) at ≥25 μg/mL (P<0.001). None of the Ag-NPs (10 nm, 50 nm, and 100 nm) significantly affected collagen gel contraction in the presence of TGF-β1 (P=0.12, P=0.75, and P=0.996, respectively).
Conclusions :
Ag-NPs decreased the cell viability of human corneal fibroblasts in a concentration-dependent manner. No antifibrotic effect on human corneal fibroblasts was demonstrated for all sizes of Ag-NPs.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.