Attenuated effects of chitosan-capped gold nanoparticles on LPS-induced toxicity in laboratory rats

The impact of nanoparticles in medicine and biology has increased rapidly in recent years. Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) have advantageous properties such as chemical stability, high electron density and affinity to biomolecules. However, the effects of AuNP on human body after repeated administration are still unclear. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of gold-11.68 nm (AuNP1, 9.8 μg) and gold-22.22 nm (AuNP2, 19.7 μg) nanoparticles capped with chitosan on brain and liver tissue reactivity in male Wistar rats exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS from Escherichia coli serotype 0111:B4, 250 μg) upon 8 daily sessions of intraperitoneal administration. Our results suggest that the smaller size of chitosan-capped AuNP shows the protective effects against LPS-induced toxicity, suggesting a very high potential for biomedical applications.

► Smaller size of chitosan-capped gold nanoparticles acts against LPS-induced toxicity.
► Larger size of chitosan-capped gold nanoparticles agglomerated inside neurons and induced toxicity in combination with LPS.
► Chitosan has excellent biocompatible proprieties.
► Smaller size of chitosan-capped gold nanoparticles demonstrates great potential in biomedical applications.