Toxicological Comparison\nbetween Gold Nanoparticles\nin Different Shapes: Nanospheres Exhibit Less Hepatotoxicity and Lipid\nDysfunction and Nanotriangles Show Lower Neurotoxicity

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in different shapes have been\ndeveloped\nand investigated for the treatment of various diseases. However, the\npotential toxicological vulnerability of different organs to morphologies\nof AuNPs and the complication of the toxicological profile of AuNPs\nby other health risk factors (e.g., plastic particles) have rarely\nbeen investigated systematically. Therefore, in this study, we aimed\nto investigate the toxicological differences between the spherical\nand triangular AuNPs (denoted as AuS and AuT, respectively) and the\ntoxicological modulations by micro- or nanosized polystyrene plastic\nparticles (denoted as mPS and nPS, respectively) in mice. Systemic\nbiochemical characterizations were performed after a 90 day oral gavage\nfeeding to obtain toxicological comparisons in different organs. In\nthe case of single exposure to gold nanoparticles, AuT was associated\nwith significantly higher aspartate amino-transferase (168.2%, <i>P</i> < 0.05), superoxide dismutase (183.6%, <i>P</i> < 0.001), catalase (136.9%, <i>P</i> < 0.01), total\ncholesterol (132.6%, <i>P</i> < 0.01), high-density lipoprotein\ncholesterol (131.3%, <i>P</i> < 0.05), and low-density\nlipoprotein cholesterol (204.6%, <i>P</i> < 0.01) levels\nthan AuS. In contrast, AuS was associated with a significantly higher\nnitric oxide level (355.1%, <i>P</i> < 0.01) than AuT.\nConsidering the overall toxicological profiles in single exposure\nand coexposure with multiscale plastics, it has been found that AuS\nis associated with lower hepatotoxicity and lipid metabolism malfunction,\nand AuT is associated with lower neurotoxicity than AuS. This finding\nmay facilitate the future therapeutic design by considering the priority\nin protections of different organs and utilizing appropriate material\nmorphologies.