Silver and chitosan-coated silver nanoparticles induced oxidative stress in mice

Abstract

Abstract Nanotoxicology test of silver nanoparticles and chitosan-coated silver nanoparticles is an important step in their safety evaluation for biomedical applications. These nanoparticles were prepared by reducing the metal ions using sodium borohydride in the presence of polyvinyl pyrrolidone as a capping material. The average size and shape of the nanoparticles were characterized using high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Silver and chitosan–coated silver nanoparticles of average size 25±5 nm and 80±5 nm were administered orally to mice with a dose of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg body weight. Samples were collected after 14 days of the administration. The results showed that oral administration of silver nanoparticles, with the mentioned doses, significantly deteriorated the hepatic oxidative stress markers, malondialdehyde levels, nitric oxide as well as decreased antioxidants levels, reduced glutathione, glutathione-S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and total antioxidant capacity levels. They also led to deteriorations in γ-glutamyltransferase, albumin, aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin levels. Moreover, it was found that AgNPs significantly increased the levels of the tumor markers (α-L-fucosidase and arginase) as well as the levels of anti-inflammatory markers (TNF-α and IL-6). In addition, the results indicated that the AgNPs were able to induce significant alteration in the apoptosis related genes associated with DNA damage and these results were confirmed by the histological analysis of liver, kidney and spleen sections. However, administration of chitosan–coated AgNPs improved most of the biochemical parameters enrolled in this study. In conclusion, chitosan–coated AgNPs had less cytotoxic effects on liver function, anti-inflammatory and genetic biomarkers.