Research focused on assessing potential consumer exposure to nanoparticles released from nano-enabled food-contact materials (FCMs) has often reached conflicting conclusions regarding the detection of migrating nanoparticles. These conflicting conclusions, coupled with the potential for nanoparticles to be unstable in certain food simulants, has necessitated a closer look at the role played by food simulants recommended for use in nanoparticle migration evaluation. The influence of aqueous food simulants on nanoparticles under migration evaluation conditions is reported herein. The stability of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) spiked into three food simulants (water, 10% ethanol and 3% acetic acid) was investigated using asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4), ultrafiltration, electron microscopy (EM), and single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (sp-ICP-MS). While 3% acetic acid induced significant oxidative dissolution of AgNP to silver ions, there were very minor to no changes in the physicochemical properties of AgNP in water and 10% ethanol.
Keywords: AF4; Silver nanoparticles; food simulant; sp-ICP-MS; stability.