Accumulation and Effect of Silver Nanoparticles Functionalized with Spirulina platensis on Rats.

Ludmila Rudi,Inga Zinicovscaia,Dmitrii Grozdov,Anastasia Cepoi,Liliana Cepoi,Tatiana Chiriac,Alexandra Peshkova

doi:10.3390/nano11112992

Abstract

The effect of unmodified and functionalized Spirulina platensis biomass silver nanoparticles on rats during prolonged oral administration was assessed. Silver nanoparticles were characterized by using transmission electron microscopy, while their uptake by the biomass was confirmed using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive analysis. The content of silver in the different organs of rats after a period of administration (28 days) or after an additional clearance period (28 days) was ascertained by using neutron activation analysis. In animals administrated with the unmodified nanoparticles, the highest content of silver was determined in the brain and kidneys, while in animals administrated with AgNP-Spirulina, silver was mainly accumulated in the brain and testicles. After the clearance period, silver was excreted rapidly from the spleen and kidneys; however, the excretion from the brain was very low, regardless of the type of nanoparticles. Hematological and biochemical tests were performed in order to reveal the effect of nanoparticles on rats. The difference in the content of eosinophils in the experimental and control groups was statistically significant. The hematological indices of the rats did not change significantly under the action of the silver nanoparticles except for the content of reticulocytes and eosinophils, which increased significantly. Changes in the biochemical parameters did not exceed the limits of normal values. Silver nanoparticles with the sizes of 8–20 nm can penetrate the blood–brain barrier, and their persistence after a period of clearance indicated the irreversibility of this process.

Highlights

Nanotechnology has been proven as one of the most dynamic fields of modern science
The Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) image taken of the drop-cast film of AgNPs dissolved in water shows that the nanoparticles were mainly spherical and formed small agglomerations
AgNPs—experimental group administrated with AgNPs; AgNPsSp—experimental group administrated with AgNPsTP—total proteins; GL—glucose; CREA—creatinin; UA—urea; ALT—alanine aminotransferase; AST—aspartate

Summary

Introduction

Nanomaterials are increasingly common in human life, and nanoparticles with unique properties have perfected many sectors of production and consumption, including medicine, where they are used for imaging and drug administration [1]. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are among the most available nanomaterials produced on an industrial scale for various fields of application. [2,3] These nanoparticles have been widely applied in medicine as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, and anticancer agents [4]. Their antimicrobial properties are considered to be a solution to the problem of multidrug-resistant bacteria [5,6]

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