Halloysite (Al Si O (OH) ·nH O) nanotubes (HNTs) are natural clay materials and widely applied in many fields due to their natural hollow tubular structures. Many in vitro studies indicate that HNTs exhibit a high level of biocompatibility, however the in vivo toxicity of HNTs remains unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the hepatic toxicity of the purified HNTs in mice via oral route. The purified HNTs were orally administered to mice at 5, 50, and 300 mg/kg body weight (BW) every day for 30 days. Oral administration of HNTs stimulated the growth of the mice at the low dose (5 mg/kg BW) with no liver toxicity, but inhibited the growth of the mice at the middle (50 mg/kg BW) and high (300 mg/kg BW) doses. In addition, oral administration of HNTs at the high dose caused Al accumulation in the liver but had no marked effect on the Si content in the organ. The Al accumulation caused significant oxidative stress in the liver, which induced hepatic dysfunction and histopathologic changes. These findings demonstrated that Al accumulation-induced oxidative stress played an important role in the oral HNTs-caused liver injury.
Natural halloysite (AlSiO(OH)· nHO) nanotubes (HNT) are clay materials with hollow tubular structure and are widely applied in many fields. Many in vitro studies indicate that HNTs exhibit a high level of biocompatibility; however, the in vivo toxicity of HNTs remains unclear. In this study, the biodistribution and pulmonary toxicity of the purified HNTs in mice were investigated after intragastric administration for 30 days. HNTs have high stability in biological conditions. Oral administration of HNTs caused significant Al accumulation predominantly in the lung with relative slight effects on Si biodistribution. Oral administration of HNTs stimulated the growth of the mice at low dose (5 mg/kg BW) with no pulmonary toxicity but inhibited the mouse growth and resulted in oxidative stress and inflammation in lung at high dose (50 mg/kg BW). In addition, oral HNTs at high dose could be absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and deposited in lung and could also induce pulmonary fibrosis.
Oral route is one of the most important portals of nanoparticle entry to the body. However, in vivo protein corona formed in the gastrointestinal tract has not been studied owing...
Nanomaterials have been widely applied
in oral drug delivery. A
number of indirect evidences suggest that nanoparticles can pass across
gastrointestinal walls to enter the blood circulation system. However,
there is still no direct evidence to prove that the intact nanoparticles
can pass across gastrointestinal walls and the nanoparticles can retain
their original structure after translocation across gastrointestinal
walls. In the present study, the potential toxicity of dimercaptosuccinic
acid coated Zn2+ doped magnetite nanoparticles (DMSA-Zn0.4Fe2.6O4) in the spleen, stomach, and
small intestine of mice has been investigated after 30 days of repeated
intragastric administration. We provide first direct evidence that
intact DMSA-Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 can pass
across the small intestinal barriers to enter blood circulation system
and arrive in the spleen. In addition, our findings provide direct
evidence that although the biotransformation of DMSA-Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 occurs in vivo, some DMSA-Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 retain their original structure after
translocation across the small intestinal wall and deposition in the
spleen. The results indicate the safety of DMSA-Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 in the applications in mice at a 50 mg/kg
dose and highlight the unique advantage of DMSA-Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 in biomedical applications.
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