The acute liver injury in rat caused by gold nanoparticles

Objective(s):   Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) command a great deal of attention for biomedical applications nowadays. The data about the degree of toxicity and the accumulation of gold nanoparticles in-vivo is not enough to judge.  Materials and Methods:  A total of 32 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 including: three GNP-treated and one control group. Groups 1, 2 and 3 received 0.5 cc of a solution containing 5, 10, and 100 ppm Au daily via intraperitoneal (IP) injection for 7 days, respectively. The control group was treated with 0.5 cc normal saline with same procedure. Then, several biochemical parameters such as serum glutamate oxaloacetat transaminase (SGOT) and serum glutamate pyrvate transaminase (SGPT) were evaluated at 2, 7 and 14 days after the last injection. After 14 days, all the rats were sacrificed and liver, lung tissues were separated and evaluated.  Results:   SGOT two days after intervention was significantly greater in the group 2 than the control group. In liver histological assessment, in group 1, basophils were observed around the central veins, in group 2 fading and no observation of central veins was seen, and in group 3 hepatic damage was noticed. The lung histological results showed severe vascular hyperemia in group 1, air sacs damage in group 2, and complete air sacs destruction in group 3.  Conclusion:  The results showed extreme changes in the histopathology of lung and liver tissues caused by spherical nanogold with 5-10 nm size in all of three treatment groups.