Evaluation of hepatotoxic and genotoxic potential of silver nanoparticles in albino rats

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have wide medical applications regarding their antimicrobial effects. They are applied also in appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines. For assessment of toxicological potential of silver nanoparticles 20 mature female albino rats were divided into four groups (five rats per each). Animals were injected i/p by different doses of approximately 8.7 nm silver nanoparticles (1, 2 and 4 mg/kg b.w) daily for 28 days in addition to control group which were injected by deionized water only. Indicators of oxidative stress in liver tissue, determination of silver nanoparticles tissue concentration, description of hepatic histopathological alterations and detection of possible chromosomal aberrations in bone marrow were carried out. Results revealed various hepatic histopathological lesions that were dose dependent. The effect of Ag-NPs on hepatic malondialdhyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels were variable in different treated groups compared with the control. The tissue residues of silver nanoparticles were found in hepatic tissue and related to original treated dose. Finally, silver nanoparticles induced variable chromosomal aberrations that were dose dependent. Conclusion: Silver nanoparticles had the ability for inducing various hepatic histopathological alterations indicating hepatocytotoxicity presumably by oxidative stress, in addition to the induction of chromosomal aberrations in bone marrow cells denoting the genotoxicity of nanosilver particles.