INTRODUCTION: Gold nanoparticles are promising candidates as vehicles for drug delivery systems and could be developed into effective anticancer treatments. However, concerns about their safety need to be identified, addressed, and satisfactorily answered. Although gold nanoparticles are considered biocompatible and nontoxic, most of the toxicology evidence originates from in vitro studies, which may not reflect the responses in complex living organisms. METHODS: We used an animal model to study the long-term effects of 20 nm spherical AuNPs coated with bovine serum albumin. Mice received a 1 mg/kg single intravenous dose of nanoparticles, and the biodistribution and accumulation, as well as the organ changes caused by the nanoparticles, were characterized in the liver, spleen, and kidneys during 120 days. RESULTS: The amount of nanoparticles in the organs remained high at 120 days compared with day 1, showing a 39% reduction in the liver, a 53% increase in the spleen, and a 150% increase in the kidneys. The biological effects of chronic nanoparticle exposure were associated with early inflammatory and fibrotic responses in the organs and were more pronounced in the kidneys, despite a negligible amount of nanoparticles found in renal tissues. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest, that although AuNPs belong to the safest nanomaterial platforms nowadays, due to their slow tissue elimination leading to long-term accumulation in the biological systems, they may induce toxic responses in the vital organs, and so understanding of their long-term biological impact is important to consider their potential therapeutic applications.

Centre for Advanced Material Application Slovak Academy of Sciences Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Cellular Cardiology Institute of Experimental Endocrinology Biomedical Research Center Slovak Academy of Sciences Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Genome Integrity Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic

Department of Metallomics Faculty of Medicine Slovak Medical University Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Molecular Oncology Cancer Research Institute Biomedical Research Center Slovak Academy of Sciences Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Nanobiology Cancer Research Institute Biomedical Research Center Slovak Academy of Sciences Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Physical Electronics Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering Czech Technical University Prague Prague Czech Republic

Selecta Biotech SE Bratislava Slovakia

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