Analysis of toxicity of iron oxide nanocomposite encapsulated in a polymer matrix of arabinogalactan

Abstract

Introduction. The article presents a toxicity analysis of the Fe3O4 nanocomposite encapsulated in the natural polymer matrix of arabinogalactan (AG). A study was devoted to forming and developing the biological response of organisms to subacute administration of this nanocomposite. Materials and methods. White outbred male rats weighing 200-220 gr. were used in this study. For ten days, a test drug solution was administered orally to animals with a probe at a dose of 500 μg of iron per kilogram of body weight. Then, using histological and immunohistochemical analysis methods, the severity of the biological response of the organism to the introduction of this nanocomposite was evaluated. An analysis was made of the state of tissue of the liver, kidneys, and sensorimotor cortex. The number of neurons with the proapoptotic caspase three protein expression, anti-apoptotic bcl-2 protein, and HSP 70 stress protein was determined in the sensorimotor cortex tissue. Results. With intragastric administration to experimental animals, there was a violation of normal blood rheology in liver and kidney tissue, protein dystrophy of hepatocytes, expansion of perivascular spaces of brain tissue, and a decrease in the total number of sensorimotor cortex neurons per unit area. Immunohistochemical analysis of tissue of the sensorimotor cortex for expression of pro-and anti-apoptotic proteins and the expression of HSP 70 protein showed a sharp increase in the number of neurons with the expression of HSP 70 stress protein. Discussion. The nature of the detected changes indicates the occurrence of compensatory-adaptive reactions in the organism in response to the effect of FeAG. The lack of expression of caspase 3 protein eliminates the development of apoptosis.