The cytotoxic properties of zinc nanoparticles have been evaluated in vitro against several types of cancer. However, there is a lack of significant evidence of their activity in vivo, and a potential therapeutic application remains limited. Herein we report the effective inhibition of tumor growth by zinc nanoparticles in vivo, as the effect of the dietary intervention, after the chemical induction in a rodent model of breast cancer. Biopsy images indicated grade 1 tumors with multiple inflammatory infiltrates in the group treated with zinc nanoparticles, whereas, in the other groups, a moderately differentiated grade 2 adenocarcinoma was identified. Moreover, after the supplementation with zinc nanoparticles, the levels of several metabolites associated with cancer metabolism, important to its survival, were found to have been altered. We also revealed that the biological activity of zinc in vivo depends on the size of applied particles, as the treatment with zinc microparticles has not had much effect on cancer progression.

Central Laboratory of Experimental Animals Medical University of Warsaw Stefana Banacha 1a 02 091 Warsaw Poland

Department of Biomaterials Chemistry Chair of Analytical Chemistry and Biomaterials Faculty of Pharmacy with the Laboratory Medicine Division Medical University of Warsaw Stefana Banacha 1 02 097 Warsaw Poland

Department of Bromatology Faculty of Pharmacy with the Laboratory Medicine Division Medical University of Warsaw Stefana Banacha 1 02 097 Warsaw Poland

Department of Chemistry Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry Lodz University of Technology Stefana Zeromskiego 116 90 924 Lodz Poland

Department of Pathology and Veterinary Diagnostics Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Warsaw University of Live Sciences Nowoursynowska 159c 02 787 Warsaw Poland

LECO Instrumente Plzen Plaska 66 323 00 Plzen Czech Republic

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