Size-Specific Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Silver Nanoparticles: A Computational and Experimental Integration

During the last years, nanomaterials, such as silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), have revolutionized various areas due to their antimicrobial properties. However, their impact on human health in the short, medium, and long term has yet to be fully understood due to the variability in their sizes and the lack of standards that define a specific size and their biological impact. Specialized software can help develop mathematical models and predict the conditions necessary to produce AgNPs of a controlled size. These tools complement experimental techniques, facilitating physical-chemical characterization and contributing to a more precise regulation and safe use of AgNPs in various applications. This study aimed to determine the optimal conditions for the chemical synthesis of AgNPs of different sizes through the design of experiments (DOE) to optimize the synthesis conditions and to evaluate their effects in the NIH-3T3 cell line. A 24 DOE was carried out, varying the temperature, reaction time, concentration of the precursor agent, and concentration of the reducing agent, using the nanoparticle size as a response variable supported by the MiePlot software. AgNPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible light absorption spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy. It was possible to synthesize and characterize the AgNPs with a predominant size of 60 nm, which conditions were also complemented with the MiePlot software. It was found that temperature and the concentration of reducing agents influence nanoparticle size and that the smaller the nanoparticle, the more significant toxicity they exhibit in NIH-3T3 cells. The present study shows the value of the complementary use of computational tools like MiePlot integrated with experimental