Research explores ways to mitigate the environmental toxicity of ubiquitous silver nanoparticles

Silver has long been used to thwart the spread of illness, and in recent years, silver nanoparticles have been incorporated into many products, including odor-resistant clothes, makeup, food packaging, and sports equipment. Despite their ubiquity, little is known about their environmental toxicity or how it might be mitigated. So, researchers at Oregon State University and the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (Corvallis, OR) have taken a key step toward closing the knowledge gap with a study that indicates silver nanoparticles' shapes and surface chemistries play key roles in how they affect aquatic ecosystems.