Aims

The increase in the usage of copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) in the industrial and medical fields has raised concerns about their possible adverse effects. The present study aims to investigate the potential adverse effects of Cu NPs on the brain of adult male Wistar rats through the estimation of some oxidative stress parameters and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity.

Basic procedures

Cu NPs were prepared and characterized using different techniques: Dynamic Light Scattering, X-Ray Diffraction, Transmission and Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy, in addition to Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy. Rats were divided into two groups: Cu NPs-treated group (IV injected with 15 mg/kg ˷ 13 nm Cu NPs for 2 successive days) and a control group (injected with saline). Rats of the 2 groups were decapitated simultaneously after 48 h of the last injection. The Cu content in different brain areas was analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Moreover, the effect of Cu NPs on brain edema was evaluated. The behavior of rats in an open-field was also examined 24 h post the last injection.

Main findings

Significant increases of Cu content in the cortex, cerebellum, striatum, thalamus and hippocampus were found. Moreover, Cu NPs lead to the induction of oxidative stress condition in the thalamus, hypothamaus and medulla. In addition, Cu NPs induced significant increases in AChE activity in the medulla, hippocampus, striatum besides midbrain. Cu NPs-injected rats showed also decreased exploratory behaviour.

Principal conclusion

The results obtained in the present study point to the importance of toxicity assessments in evaluating the efficiency of Cu NPs for the safe implementation in different applications.

中文翻译：

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铜纳米粒子在大鼠脑中的生物分布和毒性评估。

 目标

铜纳米颗粒（Cu NP）在工业和医疗领域的使用增加引起了人们对其可能产生的不利影响的担忧。本研究旨在通过评估一些氧化应激参数和乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）活性来研究铜纳米粒子对成年雄性Wistar大鼠大脑的潜在不利影响。

 基本程序

使用不同的技术制备和表征 Cu NP：动态光散射、X 射线衍射、透射和扫描电子显微镜、傅里叶变换红外光谱以及能量色散 X 射线光谱。将大鼠分为两组：Cu NPs治疗组（连续2天静脉注射15 mg/kg˷ 13 nm Cu NPs）和对照组（注射生理盐水）。 2组大鼠于末次注射后48 h同时处死。使用电感耦合等离子体质谱法分析不同脑区的铜含量。此外，还评估了 Cu NPs 对脑水肿的作用。最后一次注射后 24 小时还检查了大鼠在旷场中的行为。

 主要发现

皮层、小脑、纹状体、丘脑和海马的铜含量显着增加。此外，Cu NPs 会导致丘脑、下丘脑和延髓的氧化应激状态的诱导。此外，Cu NPs 还诱导除中脑外的延髓、海马、纹状体中的 AChE 活性显着增加。注射铜纳米颗粒的大鼠也表现出探索行为减少。

 主要结论

本研究获得的结果表明毒性评估在评估铜纳米粒子在不同应用中安全实施的效率方面的重要性。