Genotoxic Effects of Silver Nanoparticles on Mice in Vivo

Abstract

The toxic and genotoxic effects of silver nanoparticles were studied on injected mice (BALB/c line) in vivo. A water solution of silver nanoparticles (SNP) with particle sizes of 9±6 nm was obtained by means of the original method of biochemical synthesis. The effect of the SNP solution was compared to those of AOT (anionic surfactant used as SNP stabilizer) and silver nitrate (i.e. Ag+ ions) introduced as water solutions. In studies of the toxic effects, the death of mice was registered 12-24 hours after injection only at two maximum dozes of SNP (equivalent to 0.54 and 0.36 gAg/l). It is shown that the toxic effect decreases in the sequence SNP>AOT>>AgNO3. The LE50/30 values for SNP and AOT are equal to 0.30±0.07 gAg/l and 13.3±2.1 gAg/l, respectively. Genotoxic effects were assessed by the abnormal sperm heads test and neutral Comet assay. The frequencies of abnormal sperm heads (ASHs) did not differ after treatment by SNP and AOT, but both were significantly higher than those found with AgNO3 and in control mice. Comet assay showed an increase of the DNA percentage in the comet tail in spleen cells after the injection of SNP and AOT in concentrations of ≤ LE50/30. Tail DNA % was 32.8±1.3 and 26.3±1.7%, respectively, vs 16.2±0.7% for the untreated control. To sum up, these tests showed that the genotoxic effects of the SNP solution are associated with the presence of AOT rather than SNP.

Genotoxic effects of silver nanoparticles with/without coating in human liver HepG2 cells and in mice

“…The aqueous solution of AgNPs with the particle size of 9 ± 6 nm was obtained by biochemical synthesis. The researchers compared nanosilver solution blended with sodium succinate diisooctyl sulfonate (anionic surfactant used as a nanosilver stabilizer) and silver nitrate (Ag + ), and found that the genetic toxicity of nanosilver solution is mainly produced by sodium succinate diisooctyl sulfonate (Ordzhonikidze, Ramaiyya, Egorova, & Rubanovich, 2009).…”

Nanotoxicology: A Review

“…As such, there is a general consensus that smaller sized NPs produce higher reactivity and thus higher genotoxicity [62,63]. However, particle size is not the only factor that determines particle (geno-)toxicity.…”

Study of cytogenetic and cytotoxic effects of nanosilver and silver sulfate in germ cells of mice in vivo

“…These results find indirect confirmation in [7], which describes an increasing level of DNA damages in the germ cells of rats when NS particles are administered intravenously with a diameter of 20 nm in doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg are administered intravenously. In the experiment on mice, a significant effect of NS in germ cells is revealed in the test of "anomaly of sperm heads" with the use of NS in a concentration of 170 mg/L [5]. Lower doses or concentrations of the substance are not studied.…”

“…However, in general these papers are performed on models in vitro. In experiments in mice in vivo upon intraperitoneal or intravenous introduction, the cytogenetic effect of NS is established in bone-marrow cells [1,2] and blood reticulocytes [3] and the genotoxic effect is established in the Comet assay in bone marrow cells [2], liver [4], and spleen [5].…”

“…The genotoxic effect of NS in the germ cells of mammals was investigated in two studies. C. Ordzonikidze with colleagues [5] identified the genotoxic effect of NS using a test of "abnormality of sperm heads" of mice, J. Gromadzka-Ostrovska et al [7] used Comet assay on rats. In both studies, the introduction of NS was parenteral.…”