Table 4 Ag nano- and microparticles—ecotoxicity on algae and selected physicochemical properties sorted by ecotoxicity form (for material details, see Supporting Information Additional file 1: Tables S4 and S5)

Ag–1340/RAS

Fibre

Dispersion

44

3.8

0.8

Yes

Individual fibres; no obvious attachment

0.022 [n.d.]

Ag_Rod_3140/nanoGAP

Fibre

Dispersion

53

14.0

0.03 ± 0.00

Yes

Mainly individual fibres; loose agglomerates; no obvious attachment

0.53 [0.23–1.35]

NM-300 K/RAS

Sphere

Dispersion

15

–-

n.d. ²

No

Individual particles; no obvious attachment

0.062 [n.d.]

Ag_long/ACS

Fibre

Dispersion

52

4.4

0.1 ± 0.0

Yes

Mainly individual fibres; loose agglomerates; no obvious attachment

1.0 [n.d.]

Ag_Rod_DS_ 0471/nanoGAP

Fibre

Dispersion

44

1.6

2.8 ± 4.3

Yes

Individual fibres and dense agglomerates; no obvious attachment

1.4 [n.d.]

Ag B190/DODUKO

Platelet

Powder

3.9 * 10³

Thickness: 0.2

0.1 ± 0.0

Yes

No obvious agglomerates, no obvious attachment

1.6 [0—n.d.]

Ag_Rod_3170/nanoGAP

Fibre

Dispersion

63

6.5

0.1 ± 0.1

Yes

Individual fibres and dense agglomerates; no obvious attachment

1.7 [1.6–1.9]

SRM 110525/RAS

Fibre

Dispersion

241

2.4

0.004

No

Individual fibres; no obvious attachment

2.4 [2.1–2.7]

Ag_Rod_3143/nanoGAP

Fibre

Dispersion

41

1.6

0.71 ± 1.11

Yes

individual fibres and dense agglomerates; no obvious attachment of fibres to algae

 > 1 (extrapolated: 1–10)

Ag_short

Fibre

Dispersion

52

1.3

 < 0.0009 (detection limit)

not determined

Individual fibres and loose agglomerates; no obvious attachment

18.2 [14.8–22.1]

Ag ES-4/DODUKO

Platelet

Powder

1.7 * 10³

Thickness: 0.5

 < 0.0009 (detection limit)

No

Agglomerates of varying size, no obvious attachment

10–100 (EC₅₀ n.d)