Innovative method of environmental safety research of starch-based films with silver nanoparticles

In this work, films based on three different starches have been developed and modified by adding silver nanoparticles. We examined the films in terms of their mechanical properties, barrier properties and environmental toxicity to plants and invertebrates. For the toxicity studies, we used the following seeds: Berny rapeseed, Brassica napus; Salvia hispanica—chia, Salvia hispanica; and Karo narrowleaf lupine, Lupinus angustifolius. The invertebrates used for toxicity studies were Daphnia pulex, Tubifex tubifex, Chaoborus sp. (larva), Chironomus aprilinus, and Artemia sp. The tests showed that KD, TD, and ZD films were the most phytotoxic, which was confirmed by the percentages of germination and growth inhibition calculated for all test plants. K2D, D2T, and Z2D films exhibited considerable toxicity to lupine and chia. The conducted biotoxicity tests concerning the modified films and their effect on the selected invertebrates showed that Daphnia pulex and Artemia were highly sensitive to the tested factors. Only Chaoborus sp. (larva) exhibited total resistance to the tested films, which did not cause death of the organism in any case. Biotests on invertebrates and plants developed and used in this research can be successfully used to determine the toxicity of other substances.