Pulse-Modulated Radio-Frequency Alternating-Current-Driven Atmospheric-Pressure Glow Discharge for Continuous-Flow Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles and Evaluation of Their Cytotoxicity toward Human Melanoma Cells

An innovative and environmentally friendly method for the synthesis of size-controlled silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is presented. Pectin-stabilized AgNPs were synthesized in a plasma-reaction system in which pulse-modulated radio-frequency atmospheric-pressure glow discharge (pm-rf-APGD) was operated in contact with a flowing liquid electrode. The use of pm-rf-APGD allows for better control of the size of AgNPs and their stability and monodispersity. AgNPs synthesized under defined operating conditions exhibited average sizes of 41.62 ± 12.08 nm and 10.38 ± 4.56 nm, as determined by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed that the nanoparticles were composed of metallic Ag. Furthermore, the ξ-potential of the AgNPs was shown to be −43.11 ± 0.96 mV, which will facilitate their application in biological systems. Between 70% and 90% of the cancerous cells of the human melanoma Hs 294T cell line underwent necrosis following treatment with the synthesized AgNPs. Furthermore, optical emission spectrometry (OES) identified reactive species, such as NO, NH, N2, O, and H, as pm-rf-APGD produced compounds that may be involved in the reduction of the Ag(I) ions.