Effect of acute and long-term administration of gold nanoparticles on biochemical parameters in rat brain

Abstract The present study investigated stress oxidative parameters and activities of enzymes of the energy metabolism in various brain structures. Rats were subjected to acute and long-term administration of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with mean diameters of 10 nm and 30 nm. Adult (60 days old) male Wistar rats received a single intraperitoneal injection (acute administration; 70 μg·kg − 1 ) or repeated injections once daily for 28 days (long-term administration; 70 μg·kg − 1 ) of saline solution or GNPs (10 nm or 30 nm). Twenty-four hours after administration of the final dose, the animals were killed and the cerebral structures were isolated for enzyme analysis. In this study, we observed that the thiobarbituric acid-reactive species and carbonyl protein levels were decreased after acute administration of GNPs, whereas the superoxide dismutase activity was increased after acute and long-term of GNPs. The catalase activity was affected by the administration of GNPs. Furthermore, we have not found change in the citrate synthase activity. The succinate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, complexes I, II, II–III and IV, and creatine kinase activities were altered. These results indicate that inhibition energy metabolism can be caused by oxidative stress.