• Investigation of Toxic effect of Sputtered Gold Nanoparticles on Liver Cells
  • Hajar Moghadas,1,*
    1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yasouj University, Yasouj


  • Introduction: Today, gold nanoparticles are widely used in medicine [1]. Nanoparticles as drug carriers have been investigated in several articles. The large surface-to-volume ratio of gold particles enables their surface to be coated with hundreds of molecules, including therapeutics, and targeting agents. Gold particles combined with therapeutic agents improve drug pharmacokinetics and provide controlled or sustained release properties. These factors make gold particles an attractive tool for drug and gene delivery [2, 3]. Gold is typically a neutral and non-toxic material. However, nanoparticles usually have different properties compared to the original material. Some articles have reported the toxicity and some non-toxicity of gold nanoparticles on other cells [4, 5]. This article investigates the effect of toxicity of gold nanoparticles prepared by the sputtering method on liver cells.
  • Methods: In sputtering, different metals are used to coat surfaces for SEM imaging. During the deposition, the gold nanometer is separated from the target and sticks to the glass wall of the chamber. In this research, nanoparticles were separated from the wall of the sputtering chamber. Then nanoparticles with different concentrations were prepared in PBS. Different doses of the solution containing gold nanoparticles were poured into the liver cells. Liver cells were previously cultured in 96-well plates. 5 microliters of solution containing nanoparticles with concentrations of 20 µg/ml and 10 µg/ml were added to the surface of the cells. After one hour, 0.5 ml of culture medium was added to the surface of the cells. The range of concentrations presented in the articles is reported in concentrations less than 100 µg/ml. After 12 and 24 hours of adding nanoparticles, the conditions of the cells were checked under a microscope.
  • Results: The distribution of gold nanoparticles with a concentration of 20 µg/ml is shown in Figure 1. The data show that the size of the obtained particles is in the range of 25-60 nm. At first, liver cells covered more than 70% of the surface of the wells. 12 hours later, the cells were observed to be aggregated and some of them were dead and separated from the surface and suspended in the liquid on the cell surface. After 24 hours, almost all the cells were removed from the surface and died. The results of the present experiments show that the nanoparticles produced by the sputtering method in the range of 25-60 nm have lethal and toxic properties on liver cells. The same result is observed for a lower concentration of 10 µg/ml.
  • Conclusion: In this study, the toxicity effect of sputtered gold nanoparticles on liver cells was investigated. Tests show that in the range of 25-60 nm, gold particles have lethal and toxic effects on liver cells. In addition to their type, the toxic properties of nanoparticles also depend on their size, geometric shape, and surface properties. In the present study, only the reaction of dead and alive cells was investigated. In order to find the main cause of the toxicity of this type of particle, it is necessary to study the effects of size, geometric shape, and surface properties of the particles in more detail.
  • Keywords: Gold nanoparticle, Liver, toxicity, cell culture, Sputtering