Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng.

Aspects 444 (2014) 226–231

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and

Engineering Aspects
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/colsurfa

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using tea leaf extract

and evaluation of their stability and antibacterial activity
Qian Sun a , Xiang Cai a,b , Jiangwei Li a , Min Zheng b , Zuliang Chen b,c , Chang-Ping Yu a,∗
a
Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
b
School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China
c
Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia

h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

• A simple and green way was devel-

oped to synthesize AgNPs using tea
extract.
• The synthesized AgNPs was char-
acterized by TEM, XRD, FT-IR, and
ICP-MS.
• Ag+ release from the synthesized
AgNPs was lower indicating the high
stability.
• The synthesized AgNPs showed slight
antibacterial activity against E. coli.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A simple, environmentally friendly and cost-effective method has been developed to synthesize silver
Received 24 September 2013 nanoparticles (AgNPs) using tea leaf extract. We have studied the effects of the tea extract dosage, reaction
Received in revised form time and reaction temperature on the formation of AgNPs. The AgNPs were synthesized using silver
10 December 2013
nitrate and tea extract, and the reaction was carried out for 2 h at room temperature. The synthesized
Accepted 24 December 2013
AgNPs were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier
Available online 7 January 2014
transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analyzer, and zeta potential analyzer. The
synthesized AgNPs were nearly spherical, with the sizes ranging from 20 to 90 nm. FT-IR spectral analysis
Keywords:
Green synthesis
indicated the tea extract acted as the reducing and capping agents on the surface of AgNPs. Furthermore,
Silver nanoparticles the study of silver ion release from the tea extract synthesized AgNPs showed a good stability in terms of
Tea leaf extract time-dependent release of silver ions. In addition, the antibacterial activity of AgNPs was determined by
Silver ion release monitoring the growth curve and also by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Due to the larger size
Antibacterial effect and less silver ion release, the AgNPs synthesized by tea extract showed low antibacterial activity against
Escherichia coli.
© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction environments [1]. However, the reducing reagents, such as sodium

In recent years, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely
used in many consumer goods, such as medical devices, cleaning
agents, and clothing, due to its unique antimicrobial properties.
Generally, the method for the AgNP preparation involves the reduc-
tion of silver ions in the solution or in high temperature in gaseous
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 592 6190768; fax: +86 592 6190768.
E-mail address: cpyu@iue.ac.cn (C.-P. Yu).
borohydride, may increase the environmental toxicity or biological
hazards [1,2]. Moreover, the capping agents like polyvinyl alcohol
(PVA) or gelatin, have to be used to protect the AgNPs from aggre-
gation. On the other hand, the high temperature may also increase
the cost. Hence, the development of a green synthesis of AgNP by
using environment-friendly solvents and nontoxic reagents is of
great interest.
Huang et al. described the AgNP synthesis using a leaf extract of
Cinnamomum camphora, while the reduction was considered due to
the phenolics, terpenoids, polysaccharides and flavonoids present

0927-7757/$ – see front matter © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2013.12.065
 Q. Sun et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 444 (2014) 226–231
in the extract [3]. Moreover, the extracts of various plants, including
Eucalyptus hybrid [4], Syzygium cumini [5], Sesuvium portulacastrum
[6], Boswellia ovalifoliolata [7], Calotropis procera [8], Musa para-
disiacal [9], Acalypha indica [10] were successfully used for AgNP
synthesis. In addition, tea leaf extract was used for the AgNP synthe-
sis. Begum et al. reported the AgNP synthesized by the ethyl acetate
extract of tea leaves [11]. Nadagouda et al. showed the synthesized
AgNP with the size range of 20–60 nm [12]. However, the reac-
tion conditions, including the temperature or tea extract dosage,
the synthesis mechanism, the AgNP stability, and the antibacterial
activity have not been fully investigated.
Previous studies showed that AgNPs would likely release silver
ions after entering the aquatic environment [13,14], which would
reduce the stability of AgNPs. In addition, silver ions exhibited
different physiochemical properties and biological toxicity from
AgNPs [13,15,16]. Therefore, understanding of the silver ion release
from AgNPs is necessary. Liu et al. reported more than 10% (w/w)
silver ions were released from citrate coated AgNPs (2 mg/L) in the
air-saturated (8.3 mg/L) water at pH 5.6 after 24 h [14]. Lee’s study
indicated that the silver ion release kinetics followed first-order
kinetics [15]. In addition, the release rates of silver ions were mainly
dependent on the particle sizes, the environmental factors (e.g., dis-
solved oxygen, pH, temperature) [13,17], and the capping agents
[18]. However, quantitative data on the silver ion release from the
green synthesized AgNPs are limited.
The present study attempts to fill the knowledge gap by inves-
tigating the synthesis, stability, and antimicrobial ability of AgNPs
synthesized by tea extract. Tea extract solution was used as a reduc-
ing and capping reagent for the AgNP synthesis, and distilled water
served as the reaction medium. The reaction conditions on the
synthesis of AgNPs were studied. The obtained particles were ana-
lyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction
(XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermo-
gravimetric analyzer, and zeta potential analyzer to understand the
morphology and capping of AgNPs. The AgNP stability was eval-
uated via the time-dependent release of silver ions from the tea
extract synthesized AgNPs. In addition, the antibacterial activity by
tea extract synthesized AgNPs was also investigated.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Synthesis of AgNPs by tea extract
Tea leaves extract was used as a reducing agent for the AgNP syn-
thesis. 16 g of dried green tea leaves (Richun Tea Company, Fujian)
was added to 100 mL ultrapure water in 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask.
The mixer was boiled (5 min), cooled, filtered, and the filtrate was
stored at 4 ◦ C as the stock solution and was used within 1 week. The
total organic carbon (TOC) content of tea extract analyzed by TOC
analyzer (TOC-VCPH, Shimadzu, Japan), was approximately 20 g/L.
The stock solution of tea extract was diluted to 1%, 5%, 10%, 25%,
50% and 100% (v/v) as reducing and capping solution. 750 ␮L silver
nitrate (10 mM) was injected at the rate of one drop per second
to 14.25 mL tea extract working solution with vigorously stirring.
The working solution was stirred (700 rpm) for 120 min at 25, 40
and 55 ◦ C, respectively. AgNPs were concentrated and purified by
centrifugal ultrafiltration (Millipore, Amicon Ultra-15 3k, USA), and
rinsed with Milli-Q water (Millipore, 18.2 M cm, USA).
2.2. Characterization of AgNPs
The morphology of AgNPs was determined by TEM at 100 kV
(Hitachi H-7600, Japan). Samples were prepared by placing a drop
of fresh suspension on the TEM copper grids, followed by sol-
vent evaporation at room temperature overnight. The configuration
227
of AgNPs was determined by XRD (PANalytical, X’ Pert Pro,
Netherlands), operated at a voltage of 40 kV and a current of 30 mA
with Cu K␣ radiation. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the tea
extract synthesized AgNPs was conducted in nitrogen atmosphere
on a thermogravimetric analyzer (TG 209 F3 Tarsus, Germany Net-
zsch Instruments, Inc.) in the temperature range of 40–1000 ◦ C at
a scanning rate of 10 ◦ C/min. Sample was prepared by adding 2 mL
of tea extract synthesized AgNPs into petri dish and drying for 72 h
in the freeze dryer. The zeta-potential (Malvern Instruments, Zeta-
PALS, UK) of AgNPs produced by tea extract was analyzed in order to
recognize the surface charge of AgNPs. In addition, the hydrate par-
ticle size was also determined by Zetasizer (Malvern Instruments,
ZetaPALS, UK).
The quantification of AgNP stock suspensions was analyzed by
inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-
OES) (PerkinElmer Optima 7000 DV, USA) after nitric acid digestion.
Silver concentrations in the solution were analyzed by inductively
coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Agilent 7500cx, USA). The dis-
solved silver ion was isolated by removing AgNPs using centrifugal
ultrafilter devices (Millipore Amicon Ultra-4 3 K, USA), subjected
to centrifugation for 30 min at 4000 rpm [14], whereas the total
silver concentration was analyzed after nitric acid digestion. The
AgNP concentration was calculated by deducting dissolved silver
ion from total silver.
FT-IR spectroscopy measurements were carried out to identify
the functional groups which are bound distinctively on the AgNP
surface and involved in the synthesis of AgNPs. Samples for the FT-
IR analysis were prepared by drying the tea extract taken before
and after synthesis of AgNPs. Samples for FT-IR measurement were
prepared by mixing 1% (w/w) specimens with 100 mg of potas-
sium bromide powder and pressing the mixture into a sheer slice.
Hand-ground samples were measured by a FT-IR spectrometer (FT-
IR Nicolet 5700, Thermo Corp. USA). The average of 9 scans was
collected for each measurement using a resolution of 2 cm−1 .
2.3. Silver ion release test
The dissolution kinetics of AgNPs synthesized by the tea extract
in air-saturated (8.2 mg O2 /L) deionized water was investigated.
PVA-coated, uncoated, and commercial AgNPs were also applied
for comparison, for which the preparation processes are described
in supplementary information (SI). The AgNP stock suspension was
diluted with deionized water to 1.0 mg/L. The initial pH values of
tea extract AgNPs, PVA-coated AgNPs, uncoated AgNPs, and com-
mercial AgNPs were 6.9, 6.8, 6.9, and 7.2, respectively. Silver ion
release experiments were carried out in triplicate on dark shaker
(120 rpm) at 28 ◦ C.
2.4. Antibacterial susceptibility test
The antibacterial test was carried out via a growth inhibition
assay. Escherichia coli K12 strain MPAO1 (Coli Genetic Stock Center
[CGSC; Yale University]) was grown on Luria-Bertani (LB) medium
at 37 ◦ C for overnight. The cultures were diluted in fresh LB medium
to get an initial 0.05 absorbance at OD600 . 150 ␮L of AgNPs solu-
tion under target concentrations were pipetted into eight parallel
wells of a 96-well microplate (8 replicates), and 150 ␮L of E. coli
cells were inoculated in each well. The final concentrations of
AgNPs were 50.0, 25.0, 12.5, 6.25, 3.12, 1.56, 0.78, 0.39, 0.195 mg/L,
respectively. The absorbance was measured at OD600 through a 96-
well microplate with a SpectraMax M5 Multi-detection Microplate
Reader (Molecular Devices Inc., USA) at predetermined time inter-
vals.
In addition, the antimicrobial susceptibility test was also per-
formed according to a modified Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method
228 Q. Sun et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 444 (2014) 226–231
A B
100
AgNP production efficiencies
98
96
(%)
94
92
90
1% 5% 10% 25%
Tea extract dilute rates
Fig. 1. Effects of tea extract dilute rates on the AgNP production efficiencies (A) and zeta potential (B) (±standard error).
as described by Liu et al. [17]. Details of the experiment were
described in SI.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of the tea extract dosage
The effects of the initial concentrations of the tea extract on the
AgNPs productivity were studied at 25 ◦ C. The stock solution of tea
extract was diluted to 1%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 50% and 100% (v/v) and
was used as working solution, with the TOC of 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 10.1,
and 20.2 g/L, respectively. The formation of AgNPs was indicated
by the appearance of signature brown color of the solution (SI Fig.
S1). To understand the formation of AgNPs, the total silver con-
centrations and silver ion concentrations were analyzed. As shown
in Fig. 1A the production efficiencies of AgNPs were 99.1%, 99.7%,
99.9%, 99.8%, 94.6%, and 95.3% (w/w) with 1%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, and
100% (v/v) tea extract, respectively. The production efficiencies of
AgNPs were all above 94% (w/w), while the highest AgNP produc-
tion efficiency was achieved with 5% (v/v) tea extract. In addition,
the zeta potential is shown in Fig. 1B. Generally, a suspension that
exhibits an absolute zeta potential less than 20 mV is considered
unstable and will result in precipitation of particles from solution
[19], whereas the absolute zeta potential higher than 20 mV is sta-
ble [20]. In this study, zeta potentials of AgNPs were −20.7 and
−21.3 mV with 1% and 5% (v/v) tea extracts, respectively, indicat-
ing the stability of AgNP suspensions. The zeta potentials of AgNPs
increased as the tea extract concentrations increased, and reached
−12.0 and −11.3 mV with 50% and 100% (v/v) tea extract, indicating
the instability of AgNP suspensions at high tea extract concentra-
tion. Therefore, 5% (v/v) tea extract was chosen in the following
study.
3.2. Effect of temperature on AgNP synthesis
The effect of temperature on the AgNPs formation was investi-
gated at 25, 40, and 55 ◦ C with 5% (v/v) tea extract. The previous
study of AgNP synthesis by Pulicaria glutinosa extract showed the
AgNP production was enhanced by increasing temperature [21].
Our results showed that the increase in temperature had no sig-
nificant effect on the production efficiencies of AgNPs (data not
shown), and this difference may be due to the production efficiency
in the present study was already 99.7% (w/w) at 25 ◦ C and had little
space to improve. However, the average hydrate particle sizes of
AgNPs were 91, 129, and 175 nm at 25, 40, and 55 ◦ C, respectively
(Fig. 2A). The increase of AgNP size with the increasing temperature
0
-5
zeta potential (mV)
-10
-15
-20
-25
-30
50% 100% 1% 5% 10% 25% 50% 100%
Tea extract dilute rates
was in accordance with the previous study [1,21,22]. This is prob-
ably due to the reaction rates of AgNP synthesis increased as the
temperature increased, consequently, the particle sizes increased
[22].
3.3. Characterization of tea extract synthesized AgNPs
TEM was employed to characterize the size, shape and mor-
phology of the synthesized AgNPs. The TEM images of AgNPs
synthesized by 5% (v/v) diluted tea extract (1 g/L TOC) are shown in
Fig. 2B–D. The morphology of AgNPs is nearly spherical. AgNP sizes
ranged from 20 to 90 nm. The difference in the particle size by TEM
and in situ dynamic light scattering techniques may be due to the
aggregation during the sample preparation [14].
The XRD pattern of the dried silver nanoparticles is shown in
Fig. 3. The XRD peaks at 2 degree of 38.1, 44.3, 64.4 and 77.4 can be
attributed to the (1 1 1), (2 0 0), (2 2 0), and (3 1 1) crystalline planes
of the face centered cubic crystalline structure of metallic silver
(JCPDS file No. 01-071-4613). Besides, the peak near 31.9 implied
the possible existence of Ag2 O [17,23].
FT-IR spectroscopy was used to characterize and identify the
chemical composition of the AgNP surface. The FT-IR spectra of
control dried tea extract (before reaction without AgNO3 ) and syn-
thesized AgNPs (after reaction with AgNO3 ) are shown in Fig. 4.
Both of them showed a shift in peaks: 3420–3371 (due to N–H
stretching, amides), 2931–2925 (due to C–H stretching, alkanes),
1383–1371 (characteristic of hydroxyl groups, phenolic hydroxyl),
1051–1044 cm−1 (due to C-stretching, ether groups). In addition,
the synthesized AgNPs showed other peaks at 1695, 1452, 1241,
and 926 cm−1 related to alkene groups (C C stretching), tertiary
ammonium ions, poly phenols, aliphatic amines (C–N stretch-
ing vibrations), and alkene groups (C–H stretching), respectively.
The FT-IR analysis indicated the involvement of amides, carboxyl,
amino groups and poly phenols in the synthesized AgNPs. It is well
known that there are tea polyphenols, protein, and amino acid in
tea. The organic compounds in tea extract could attribute to the
reduction of AgNO3 and the stabilization of AgNPs by the surface
bound by the organic compounds [24]. Similar observations were
noticed in the green synthesis of AgNPs using plant extract [25,26].
The synthesis of AgNPs was demonstrated by the tea polyphenol
(Baicao Co. China) of 5.0 mg/L (TEM image is shown in SI Fig. S2),
which supported AgNPs could be synthesized by the reduction of
silver ion via tea polyphenols.
The capping organic groups on the surface of tea extract synthe-
sized AgNPs was further confirmed by TGA. Fig. 5 shows the TGA
curve with three weight losses. The first weight loss was observed at
 Q. Sun et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 444 (2014) 226–231 229

Fig. 2. The average hydrate particle sizes (±standard error) (A), and TEM image of AgNPs formed at 25 ◦ C (B), 40 ◦ C (C), and 55 ◦ C (D).

around 100 ◦ C due to the loss of adsorbed water. The second weight
loss, which accounted for 19% of the total AgNPs weight, appeared
at 180–380 ◦ C. The degradation of organic compounds, including
ferulic acid, ascorbic acid, and quercetins, might cause the weight
loss [27]. The combustion of carbohydrates and the less condensed
structures of the lignin molecules would also cause the weight loss
[28]. In addition, the degradation or glycosylation of the catechins
might contribute to the weight loss [29]. There is a steady weight
loss appeared at 380–1000 ◦ C, which accounted for 19% of the total
weight loss. This was probably due to the thermal degradation of
resistant aromatic structures and the decomposition of biogenic
salt, such as carbonates [28]. Data from TGA indicated the content
of tea component estimated from the weight loss was 39% of the
tea extract synthesized AgNPs.
3.4. Release of silver ion
Since the silver ion release is an important behavior of AgNPs,
the characterization of silver ion release is necessary to under-
stand the environmental fate of synthesized AgNPs. In this study,

240
Tea extract synthesized AgNPs
210 Tea extract
1370.29
% Transmittance

180 1451.62
832.24
150
926.28
1694.78
120 1240.91
2930.57 1627.01
90 1050.59
3370.53

60
2925.20 1603.16 1043.55
30 3419.70 1383.11

3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500

-1
Wavenumbers (cm )

Fig. 3. XRD pattern of 5% (v/v) tea extract synthesized silver nanoparticles AgNPs. Fig. 4. FT-IR spectra of the tea extract and tea extract reduced AgNPs.
230 Q. Sun et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 444 (2014) 226–231

lower ion release rate of tea extract synthesized AgNPs indicated a

100 good stability and the probably longer preservation time. In addi-
tion, AgNPs is known to show the antibacterial activity, which to
some extent is through the release of silver ions [31]. Therefore, the
90
antimicrobial activity of tea extract synthesized AgNPs is expected
to be less than that of other AgNPs.
TG %

80
3.5. Antibacterial activity
70
The antibacterial activity of AgNPs against E. coli was investi-
gated. Silver ion was found to be the most toxic species to inhibit the
60 growth of E. coli. The E. coli growth was completely inhibited with
the silver ion concentration at or higher than 1.56 mg/L. The inhibi-
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 tion concentrations were 12.5 and 25.0 mg/L for PVA-coated AgNPs
o and uncoated AgNPs, respectively. Whereas the tea extract synthe-
Temperature ( C)
sized AgNPs and commercial AgNPs did not show E. coli growth
Fig. 5. TGA curve of tea extract synthesized AgNPs. inhibition even at 50.0 mg/L.
Similar results were observed by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffu-
sion method. As shown in Fig. S3, the biggest inhibition zones are
time-dependent release of silver ion from the tea extract synthe-
observed for silver ion (5 mm). PVA-coated and uncoated AgNPs
sized AgNPs was measured using centrifugal ultrafiltration and
also showed clear antimicrobial activity with inhibition zone diam-
ICP-MS. For comparison, the silver ion releases by AgNPs pre-
eter of 1.2–1.5 mm. However, tea extract synthesized AgNPs along
pared by other processes, including PVA-coated AgNPs, uncoated
with commercial AgNPs showed little antibacterial activity with
AgNPs, and commercial AgNPs, were also tested. Fig. 6 shows time-
inhibition zone diameter of 0.5–0.8 mm.
resolved concentrations of silver ion released from the AgNPs.
It is not surprising for the best antimicrobial activity of sil-
The released silver ion concentrations of tea extract synthesized
ver ion, since the good antibacterial activity of silver ions has
AgNPs was 6.73 ␮g/L at 2 h, and was increased to 8.94 ␮g/L at
been reported [17,32]. Previous studies indicated the antibacterial
24 h, while the released silver ion concentrations of commercial
activity of AgNPs by attachment to the bacterial cell wall, or the for-
AgNPs, PVA-coated AgNPs, and uncoated AgNPs at 24 h were 28.3,
mation of free radicals [33,34]. In addition, the silver ions released
35.2, 83.2 ␮g/L, respectively. The lowest silver ion release rate was
from AgNPs may play a vital role of the antibacterial activity due
achieved by tea extract synthesized AgNPs. The reason for this
to the interaction of silver ion with the thiol groups of enzymes
is because the surface of AgNPs might be sufficiently covered by
[35]. As shown in Fig. 6, the silver ion release rate of the tea extract
the groups from the tea extract, including the amides, carboxyl,
synthesized AgNPs was lower due to the functional groups on the
phenols, etc., as shown in Fig. 4. These functional groups might
surface of AgNPs or the reducing capacity of tea extract. This might
inhibit the dissolution of AgNPs by oxygen to release silver ions
result in the lower antibacterial activity of tea extract synthesized
[30]. In addition, the released silver ions could be reduced to AgNPs
AgNPs. On the other hand, smaller NPs were found to be more
due to the reducing capacity of tea extract. Furthermore, TEM
toxic due to the easier uptake and larger surface area [36,37]. Fur-
analysis showed the average sizes of the tea extract synthesized,
thermore, the potential for the silver ion releasing also increased
PVA-coated, uncoated, and commercial AgNPs were 45, 12, 15, and
with a decreasing AgNP size [38]. Therefore, the toxicity of AgNPs
40 nm, respectively. Previous study showed the silver ion releasing
was found to be size and ion release rate dependent [37]. The less
rate decreased with an increased particle size [14].
antibacterial activity of the tea extract synthesized AgNPs might be
AgNPs could keep release silver ions in the aquatic environment.
due to the larger size and less silver ion release.
In the present study, the release rates of silver ions were 2.8%, 3.5%,
and 8.3% (w/w) at pH around 7 in the presence of dissolved oxygen
after 24 h for commercial AgNPs, PVA-coated AgNPs, and uncoated 4. Conclusions
AgNPs, respectively. In comparison, the release rate of silver ions
from AgNPs synthesized by tea extract was less than 0.9% (w/w). The The present study described a green and simple way to syn-
thetize AgNPs by tea extract. AgNPs were characterized by TEM,
XRD, TGA and FT-IR. The synthesized AgNPs was crystalline struc-
ture, 20–90 nm in size, with functional groups from the tea extract
Silver ion concentration ( g/L)

120
Tea extratct synthesized AgNPs capped on the surface. The conditions such as the dosage of the tea
PVA coated AgNPs extract and reaction temperature showed an effect on the produc-
100
Uncoated AgNPs tion efficiency and formation rate of AgNPs. The silver ion release
80 Commercial AgNPs
from the tea extract synthesized AgNPs was lower compared to
the PVA-coated AgNPs, uncoated AgNPs, and commercial AgNPs,
60 which highlight a good stability due to the functional groups from
the tea extract capped on the AgNPs. However, due to the larger
40 size and less silver ion release, the biosynthesized AgNPs showed
slight antibacterial activity against E. coli.
20

0 Acknowledgements

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 We appreciate Dr. Sikandar I. Mulla for editing the manuscript.
Time (min) This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of
Fujian Province, China (2011J05035), the National Science Founda-
Fig. 6. Silver ion release kinetics by different AgNPs (±standard error). tion of China (41201490), Science and Technology Innovation and
 Q. Sun et al. / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 444 (2014) 226–231
Collaboration Team Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Technology Foundation for Selected Overseas Chinese Scholar of
MOHRSS, China, Technology Planning Project of Xiamen, China
(3502Z20120012), the Special Program for Key Basic Research of
the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2010CB434802),
and the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative
Research Teams (KZCX2-YW-T08). The authors do not have any
conflict of interest to declare.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data associated with this article can be
found, in the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.
2013.12.065.
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