Hematotoxicity of zinc carbonate nanoparticles in the Wistar rat model

Nanomicroelementology is the modern science of trace elements obtained using nanotechnology. Over the past 20 years, its achievements have led to the emergence of many food additives and medicines containing metal nanoparticles (NPs). The leading role here belongs to the discovery of zinc oxide NPs. They are widely used in the cosmetic and food industries and biomedical research, and their annual synthesis has the highest values among all nanomaterials. However, zinc-based NPs exhibit toxic effects, especially with prolonged administration. This occurs due to the action of high doses but does not depend on the route of administration of NPs (oral, intratracheal, intraperitoneal). To obtain low-toxic, safe NPs, the authors of this article developed zinc carbonate NPs (ZnCN) obtained by coprecipitation and stabilized with polyvinylpyrrolidone. Therefore, this work aimed to determine the ZnCN hematotoxic effect. For this purpose, a chronic toxicological experiment was conducted on male Wistar rats (n = 25), which were administered from 25 to 200 mg/kg b. w. for 30 days. On the 15th, 30th and 45th days of the experiment, blood samples were taken for evaluation on an automatic hemanalizer. Hematological parameters (hemoglobin level, number of erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets, and hematocrit and thrombocrit) examined during the 45 days of the experiment did not reveal pronounced signs of toxicity of the studied compound. When high doses (100–200 mg/kg b. w.) of ZnCN were administered to animals of experimental groups 3 and 4, leukocytopenia was observed. At the same time, in experimental group 3, on the 30th day of the study, the leukocyte content was lower than the control by 18.3% (P < 0.05), and in experimental group 4 – by 25.7 % (P < 0.01). At the end of the experiment on the 45th day, the leukocyte content in rats of experimental group 4 remained significantly lower by 17.9% (P < 0.05). In contrast, in experimental group 3, this indicator only tended to decrease. It is worth noting that some indicators (hemoglobin, erythrocytes) after administering 25–50 mg/kg b. w. ZnCN showed positive dynamics in the changes, which indicates an improvement in the metabolic profiles of experimental groups 1 and 2 rats. Therefore, the ZnCN studied in this experiment did not show pronounced signs of hematotoxicity.