title: Acute toxicity and pharmacokinetics of 13 nm-sized PEG-coated gold nanoparticles.
abstract: In general, gold nanoparticles are recognized as being as nontoxic. Still, there have been some reports on their toxicity, which has been shown to depend on the physical dimension, surface chemistry, and shape of the nanoparticles. In this study, we carry out an in vivo toxicity study using 13 nm-sized gold nanoparticles coated with PEG (MW 5000). In our findings the 13 nm sized PEG-coated gold nanoparticles were seen to induce acute inflammation and apoptosis in the liver. These nanoparticles were found to accumulate in the liver and spleen for up to 7 days after injection and to have long blood circulation times. In addition, transmission electron microscopy showed that numerous cytoplasmic vesicles and lysosomes of liver Kupffer cells and spleen macrophages contained the PEG-coated gold nanoparticles. These findings of toxicity and kinetics of PEG-coated gold nanoparticles may have important clinical implications regarding the safety issue as PEG-coated gold nanoparticles are widely used in biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Toxicologic Pathology, Department of Toxicological Research, National Institute of Toxicological Research, Korea Food and Drug Administration, 231 Jinhoungno Eunpyung-ku, Seoul 122-704, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Wan-Seob
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Minjung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Jinyoung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Hea-Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Beom Seok
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Sheen Hee
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyoung Ook
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yong Taik
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Bong Hyun
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Jayoung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeong
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D002712:Chlorides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000633:toxicity*; D017612:Gold Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000633:toxicity*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D020556:Neutrophil Infiltration / Q000187:drug effects; D010316:Particle Size; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D002712:Chlorides; D017612:Gold Compounds; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C024568:gold tetrachloride, acid