RESEARCH PAPER Kinetics of dissolution of a biocide soda-lime glass powder containing silver nanoparticles L. Esteban-Tejeda • A. C. da Silva • S. R. Mello-Castanho • C. Pacharroman • J. S. Moya Received: 28 November 2012 / Accepted: 17 January 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013 Abstract In the present study we have studied the lixiviation kinetics of silver nanoparticles, as well as the solubility of a particulate system ( \ 30 lm) com- posed of a glassy matrix of soda-lime glass containing 20 wt% of silver nanoparticles, under a constant flow (0.21 l/day) of deionizated water at room temperature. The kinetic of silver, CaO and SiO 2 lixiviation followed a Jander model (a 2 /4 & Kt). It has been proven that nanostructured soda-lime glass/nAg com- posed by particles\ 30 lm with a 20 wt% of silver are a strong biocide versus Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and yeasts. This soda-lime glass/nAg acts as a perfect dispenser of silver nanoparticles to the liquid media, avoiding the fast increasing of its concentration over the toxicity limit for human cells and for the environment. Keywords Jander model  Low toxicity  Glass-nAg  Biocide Introduction The development of nanotechnology has involved the use of silver nanoparticles in laboratories as well as in consumer products. However, these nanoparticles present health and environment problems because of their small size and high reactivity (Dockery et al. 1993; Seaton et al. 2009). Nanoparticles can be easily introduced in the human body through the lungs, the skin or the gastrointestinal tract. Once introduced in the body, they can be incorporated to the bloodstream, the lymphatic system and the nervous system reaching organs and tissues, such as the brain, disrupting their correct operation (Gopinath et al. 2008; Oberdo ¨rster et al. 2004; Panyala et al. 2008; Takenaka et al. 2001). The effects of silver nanoparticles on the environment are related to the toxic influence on the beneficial bacteria in soil, which play an important role in the nitrogen fixation, in the delivering of many essential nutrients to the soil formation or in the organic matter decomposition (Murata et al. 2005; Panyala et al. 2008). These problems can be solved using a matrix to embed the silver nanoparticles. A glassy matrix is the best option, because it is possible to design the glass composition depending on the application required. With this, the releasing of nanoparticles to the media can be controlled by the partial dissolution of the glassy matrix. This turns the glass into a dispenser of silver nanoparticles, avoiding the health and environ- mental problems. In addition, this material is focused to be used as a biocide due to the known antibacterial L. Esteban-Tejeda (&)  C. Pacharroman  J. S. Moya Department of Biomaterials and Bioinspired Materials, Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain e-mail: lesteban@icmm.csic.es A. C. da Silva  S. R. Mello-Castanho Energy and Nuclear Research Institute (IPEN), Sao Paulo, Brazil 123 J Nanopart Res (2013) 15:1447 DOI 10.1007/s11051-013-1447-2