Abstract

Despite the many benefits of nanotechnology, some studies have indicated that nanoparticles (NPs) may cause adverse effects, which may be attributed to size, shape, particles number, surface area and unique properties. Very little information exists on gold nanoparticles (GNPs) toxicity in vivo and other biochemical effects. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the size effect of GNPs on various trace elements levels in several tissues of rats. The experimental rats were divided into control and 3 groups (G1A, G2A and G3A; G1: 20 nm; G2: 10 nm; G3: 50 nm; A: infusion of 0.05 ml of GNPs for 3 days). To investigate the size effect of 10, 20 and 50 nm GNPs on Calcium (Ca), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn) elements in several tissues of rats, 0.05 ml dose of GNPs was intraperitonealy injected into rats for period of  3 days to identify the toxicity and tissue distribution of various trace elements levels in vivo. All the sizes of GNPs used in this study caused a significant decrease in Ca and Zn concentrations in liver, lung, heart, kidney tissues and blood compared with the control. The 10 and 20 nm GNPs caused a significant increase in Cu concentration in liver, lung, heart, kidney and blood compared with the control. The 50 nm GNPs caused a significant increase in Cu concentration in liver, lung, heart and kidney tissues compared with the control while 50 nm GNPs did not cause significant change in blood Cu concentration compared with the control. The 10 and 20 nm GNPs caused a significant increase in Fe concentration in liver, lung, heart and kidney tissues of rats. The 50 nm GNPs caused a significant increase in Fe concentrations in liver, heart, kidney tissues and blood of rats while it decreased in lung tissue compared with the control. 10 and 20 nm GNPs may be an effective inducer of oxidative stress which was evident by the fact that they caused a decrease in the cellular Ca and Zn concentrations coupled with the increase in the concentrations of Fe and Cu.

Key words: Gold nanoparticles, size, several tissues, trace elements, rats.