Capable of generating plasmonic and other effects, gold nanostructures can offer a variety of diagnostic and therapy functionalities for biomedical applications, but conventional chemically-synthesized Au nanomaterials cannot always match stringent requirements for toxicity levels and surface conditioning. Laser-synthesized Au nanoparticles (AuNP) present a viable alternative to chemical counterparts and can offer exceptional purity (no trace of contaminants) and unusual surface chemistry making possible direct conjugation with biocompatible polymers (dextran, polyethylene glycol). This work presents the first pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and safety study of laser-ablated dextran-coated AuNP (AuNPd) under intravenous administration in small animal model. Our data show that AuNPd are rapidly eliminated from the blood circulation and accumulated preferentially in liver and spleen, without inducing liver or kidney toxicity, as confirmed by the plasmatic ALAT and ASAT activities, and creatininemia values. Despite certain residual accumulation in tissues, we did not detect any sign of histological damage or inflammation in tissues, while IL-6 level confirmed the absence of any chronic inflammation. The safety of AuNPd was confirmed by healthy behavior of animals and the absence of acute and chronic toxicities in liver, spleen and kidneys. Our results demonstrate that laser-synthesized AuNP are safe for biological systems, which promises their successful biomedical applications.
Si/SiOx nanoparticles (NPs) produced by laser ablation in deionized water or aqueous biocompatible solutions present a novel extremely promising object for biomedical applications, but the interaction of these NPs with biological systems has not yet been systematically examined. Here, we present the first comprehensive study of biodistribution, biodegradability and toxicity of laser-synthesized Si-SiOx nanoparticles using a small animal model. Despite a relatively high dose of Si-NPs (20 mg/kg) administered intravenously in mice, all controlled parameters (serum, enzymatic, histological etc.) were found to be within safe limits 3 h, 24 h, 48 h and 7 days after the administration. We also determined that the nanoparticles are rapidly sequestered by the liver and spleen, then further biodegraded and directly eliminated in urine without any toxicity effects. Finally, we found that intracellular accumulation of Si-NPs does not induce any oxidative stress damage. Our results evidence a huge potential in using these safe and biodegradable NPs in biomedical applications, in particular as vectors, contrast agents and sensitizers in cancer therapy and diagnostics (theranostics).
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