Acute liver damage and interaction of cisplatin with silver nanoparticles depend on particle size

Nanomaterials are innovative materials that have novel properties that differ from those of macroscale materials in terms of response to stimuli such as heat, light, and voltage. However, the potential unknown effects of nanomaterials on living organisms have raised concerns. There are few reports describing the effects of silver nanoparticles on living organisms and the effects of nanoparticle interactions with chemical substances such as pharmaceuticals. Previously, we investigated the effects of silver nanoparticles on living organisms and their interactions with drugs. In that study, silver nanoparticles with a particle size of 10 nm induced acute liver injury, and silver nanoparticles with a particle size of 10, 50, or 200 nm interacted with drugs when administered to mice via the tail vein. Therefore, to investigate the relationship between the particle size of silver nanoparticles and degree of injury, we examined silver nanoparticles of 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 nm and the extent of acute liver injury and liver injury due to interactions with drugs. We found that silver nanoparticles ≤30 nm in size induced acute liver injury. Silver nanoparticles with a 5-nm particle size induced the most severe liver injury.