Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Toxic Effects of Silver Nanoparticles on Liver and Some Hematological Parameters in Male and Female Mice (Mus musculus)

  • Published:
Biological Trace Element Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This research was carried out to evaluate toxic effects of nanosilver (Ag-NPs) on liver function and some blood parameters of male and female mice Mus musculus. A group of 54 BALB/c mice was randomly divided into three groups (each with two replications): Ag-NP (2) and control (1), each with nine mice. The experiment lasted for 14 days. In the treatment groups, two different doses of 20 and 50 ppm of Ag-NP solution were administered orally, while in the untreated (control) group, no Ag-NP solution but distilled water was used. At the end of the experiment, the serum was obtained by centrifugation of the whole blood at 3000 rpm for 15 min. The biochemical levels including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST), and blood cells were assayed by an automatic biochemical analyzer. Also, liver biopsy was performed and samples were stained using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The values of red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), and hematocrit (Hct) did not vary significantly in the control and Ag-NP-treated animals. There were significant changes in the treatment and control groups in the levels of liver enzymes so that at both doses, there were significantly elevated levels of ALT and AST in mice treated with Ag-NPs compared with the control (p < 0.05). Sexuality was not significantly involved in the results. Oral exposure to Ag-NPs produced changes in blood chemistry and hepatotoxicity as indicated by increased serum activity levels of both AST and ALT and histological damages to the liver with no significant changes between male and female mice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. The impact of silver nano particles on growth performance, lymphoid organs and oxidative stress indicators in broiler chicks. Global Veterinaria, 5: 366-370

  2. Sawosza E, Bineka M, Grodzika M, Zieliñskaa M, Sysaa P, Szmidt M, Niemiec T, Chwalibog A (2007) Influence of hydrocolloidal silver nanoparticles on gastrointestinal microflora and morphology of enterocytes of quails. Arch Anim Nutr 61(6):444–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Karimi M, Jeddi AND, Ahmadi F (2008) Evaluation of the effectiveness of different levels of silver nanoparticles on bursa of Fabricius development and on its histopathological lesions in broiler chicks. Acta Agraria Kaposvariensis 3(2):353–360

    Google Scholar 

  4. Mritunjai S, Singh S (2008) Nanotechnology in medicine and antibacterial effect of silver nano particles. J Nanomaterials Biostructures 3(3):115–122

    Google Scholar 

  5. Lara HH, Garza-Treviño EN, Ixtepan-Turrent L, Singh DK (2011) Silver nanoparticles are broad-spectrum bactericidal and virucidal compounds. J Nanobiotechnology. 3;9:30

  6. Park EJ, Bae E, Yi J, Kim Y, Choi K (2011) Repeated-dose toxicity and inflammatory responses in mice by oral administration of silver nanoparticles. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 30:162–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Kim S, Choi JE, Choi J, Chung K-H (2009) Oxidative stress-dependent toxicity of silver nanoparticles in human hepatoma cells. Toxicol in Vitro 23:1076–1084

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Takenaka S, Karg E, Roth C, Schulz H, Ziesenis A, Heinzmann U, Schramel P, Heyder J (2001) Pulmonary and systemic distribution of inhaled ultrafine silver particles in rats. Environ Health Perspect 4:547–551

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Cheraghi J, Hosseini E, Hoshmandfar R (2013) In vivo effect of silver nanoparticles on serum ALT, AST and ALP activity in male and female mice. Adv Environ Biol 7(1):116–122

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Woodrow Wilson International Center (2010) The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. Washington, USA. Available at: http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/analysis draft (accessed 23.06.10)

  11. Farkas J, Christian P, Peter H, Roos N, Urrea JAG, Hassellِ VM, Tollefsen KE, Thomas KV, Hylland K (2011) Initial assessment of silver nanoparticles from washing machines. Environ Int 37(6):1057–1062

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Griffitt RJ, Hyndman K, Denslow ND, Barber DS (2009) Comparison of molecular and histological changes in zebrafish gills exposed to metallic nanoparticles. Toxicol Sci 107(2):404–415

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Chang AL, Khosravi V, Egbert B (2006) A case of argyria after colloidal silver ingestion. J Cutan Pathol 33:809–811

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Gatti AM, Montanari S, Monari E, Gambarelli A, Capitani F, Parisini B (2004) Detection of micro- and nano-sized biocompatible particles in the blood. J Mater Sci Mater Med 15:469–472

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Tang J, Xiong L, Wang S (2009) Distribution, translocation and accumulation of silver nanoparticles in rats. J Nanosci Nanotechnol 9(8):4924–4932

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Aniya Y, Koyama T, Miyagi C, Miyahira M, Inomata C, Kinoshita S, Ichiba T (2005) Free radical scavenging and hepatoprotective actions of the medicinal herb, Crassocephalum crepidioides from the Okinawa Islands. Biol Pharm Bull 28(1):19–23

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Martínez-Gutierrez F, Thi EP, Silverman JM, de Oliveira CC, Svensson SL, Vanden HA et al (2012) Antibacterial activity, inflammatory response, coagulation and cytotoxicity effects of silver nanoparticles. Nanomed 8(3):328–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Lee TY, Liu MS, Huang LJ, Lue SI, Lin LC et al (2013) Bioenergetic failure correlates with autophagy and apoptosis in rat liver following silver nanoparticle intraperitoneal administration. Particle Fib Toxicol 10(40):1–13

    Google Scholar 

  19. Kvitek L, Vanickova M, Panacek A et al (2009) Initial Study on the Toxicity of Silver Nanoparticles (NPs) against Paramecium caudatum. J Phys Chem C 113(4296–4300):2009

    Google Scholar 

  20. Greulich C, Braun D, Peetsch A, Diendorf J et al (2012) The toxic effect of silver ions and silver nanoparticles towards bacteria and human cells occurs in the same concentration range. RSC Adv 2:6981–6987

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

While thanking Shahrekord University, the authors thank Mr Hatamei, Veterinary Section of Shahrekord University, for his technical assistance and Dr. Fattahian, a member of academic staff of Shahrekord University, for his sincere help in tissue identification and pathology.

Conflict of interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ contributions

MSH carried out the preliminary studies, established the methods, and drafted the manuscript. He performed experiments and drafted the manuscript. RJS and SA collected data, performed experiments, and provided substantial input in data interpretation and analysis. All authors gave final approval to the version to be published.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shahrekord University, PO B 115, Shahrekord, 88186, Iran

    M. Saeed Heydrnejad, Roya Jafarzadeh Samani & Simin Aghaeivanda

Authors
  1. M. Saeed Heydrnejad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Roya Jafarzadeh Samani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Simin Aghaeivanda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Saeed Heydrnejad.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Heydrnejad, M.S., Samani, R.J. & Aghaeivanda, S. Toxic Effects of Silver Nanoparticles on Liver and Some Hematological Parameters in Male and Female Mice (Mus musculus). Biol Trace Elem Res 165, 153–158 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0247-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0247-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation