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Exposure to silver nanoparticles induces oxidative stress and memory deficits in laboratory rats

Currently most of the applications of silver nanoparticles are in antibacterial/antifungal agents in medicine and biotechnology, textile engineering, water treatment and silver-based consumer products. However, the effects of silver nanoparticles on human body, especially on the central nervous system, are still unclear. To study the mechanisms underlying the effects of silverpoly(amidehydroxyurethane) coated silver nanoparticles on brain functions, we subjected male Wistar rats to chronic treatments with silver-29 nm (5 µg/kg and 10 µg/kg) and silver-23 nm (5 µg/kg and 10 µg/kg) nanoparticles for 7 days. We evaluated the effects of nanoparticles size and structure on rat memory function. Memory processes were studied by means of two cognitive tasks (Y-maze and radial arm-maze). Exposure to silver nanoparticles significantly decreased spontaneous alternation in the Y-maze task and working memory functions in the radial arm-maze task, suggesting that nanoparticles have effects on short-term memory. We found no effects on long-term memory, which we assessed by reference memory trials in the radial arm-maze task. We found that memory deficits were significantly correlated with oxidative stress generation only in the Y-maze task. Our findings suggest that silver nanoparticles may induce an impairment of memory functions by increasing oxidative stress in the brain. The use of silver nanoparticles for medical purposes therefore requires careful consideration, particularlyif it involves exposure of the human brain.