Ultrastructural Examination of Mouse Liver and Kidney Tissues by Transmission Electron Microscopy after Intravenous Administration of BSA-Modified Silica Nanoparticles

This study presents 50 nm silica nanoparticles doped with Mn2+ ions and modified with denatured bovine serum albumin (BSA-Mn@SNs), which exhibit high MRI contrast. The effects of these nanoparticles on mouse mortality and behavior were studied for 72 h following injection of aqueous colloids at varying concentrations into the tail vein of mice. The nanoparticle concentration was varied to achieve the maximum recommended manganese concentrations for use in commercial Mn-containing contrast agents, as well as to address the known limitation of silica nanoparticles associated with mouse mortality. It was found that mice exposed to high doses of nanoparticles (up to 1 g/kg) showed no mortality over a 3-day period, despite the nanoparticles’ ability to penetrate liver and kidney cells. This was visualized using HR-TEM of liver and kidney cells in corresponding tissue samples obtained from mice euthanized 6 and 72 h after nanoparticle injection. Specifically, it was found that the nanoparticles had the most significant damaging effect on renal tubular epithelial cells.