One-Step Solution Plasma-Mediated Preparation of Se Nanoplarticles and Evaluating Their Acute Oral Toxicity in Mice

Selenium element is considered as one of the most important micronutrients for many biological systems. It has been well demonstrated that Se nanoparticles (Se NPs) express greater bioavailability, biocompatability, and less toxicity than that of Se in ion form. In this work, the Se NPs were facilely fabricated by a one-step plasma process in the ethanol–water solution mixture. The as-prepared Se NPs were well characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The prepared Se NPs were a light red color with a spherical shape and particle size in the range of 100–200 nm. The average diameter of the Se NPs calculated from the ImageJ software and TEM image was approximately 154 nm. The EDX results showed that the Se NPs prepared by the plasma process in the solution were highly pure and stable. The acute oral toxicity of the obtained Se NPs toward mice was also studied, which revealed that the Se NPs were safe for the human body. The mechanism for the formation of Se NPs from the Se ions under the solution plasma condition was also studied and discussed.