Orally\nAdministered Silver Nanoparticles Are Absorbed\nand Migrate to Testes in Mice

Given that daily exposure to nanoparticles is now unavoidable,\nthere are concerns that nanoparticles have unexpected biological effects\ndue to their small size. Here, we examined the biodistribution of\nsilver nanoparticles, which are the most frequently used nanoparticles\nowing to their antibacterial activity, with a diameter of 10 nm (nAg10)\nto the male genital tract, and the effects of paternal treatment with\nnAg10 on fetal development. Male Slc:ICR male mice were orally treated\nwith nAg10 for 14 consecutive days. Inductively coupled plasma mass\nspectrometry analysis detected silver in the blood and testis of male\nmice, but no general toxicological effects were induced. Moreover,\nthere were no significant changes in fetal development when these\ntreated male mice were mated with nontreated female mice. This implies\nthat although orally ingested nAg10 is distributed to the male genital\ntract, it does not affect fetal development under the present treatment\nconditions.