Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin (Jan 2021)

Are Silver Nanoparticles Useful for Treating Second-Degree Burns? An Experimental Study in Rats

  • Débora Antunes Neto Moreno,
  • Mirela Santos Saladini,
  • Fabia Judice Marquesudice Viroel,
  • Murilo Melo Juste Dini,
  • Thaisa Borim Pickler,
  • Jorge Amaral Filho,
  • Carolina Alves dos Santos,
  • Valquíria Miwa Hanai-Yoshida,
  • Denise Grotto,
  • Marli Gerenutti,
  • Stephen Hyslop,
  • Yoko Oshima-Franco

DOI
https://doi.org/10.34172/apb.2021.014
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 130 – 136

Abstract

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Purpose: In this work, the potential usefulness of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for treating burn wounds was examined. Methods: Second-degree burns were induced in male Wistar rats by touching the skin with a heated (70°C) metallic device for 10 s, after which the animals were randomly allocated to one of two groups: control (n=8, treated with sterile saline) and experimental (n=8, treated with AgNPs, 0.081 mg/mL; 50 µL applied to the burn surface). Seven, 14, 21 and 28 days after lesion induction two rats from each group were killed and blood samples were collected for a complete blood count and to assess oxidative stress. The livers were examined macroscopically and skin samples were collected for histological analysis. Results: Macroscopically, wound healing and skin remodeling in the experimental group were similar to the saline-treated rats. Likewise, there were no significant differences in the histological parameters between the two groups. However, treatment with AgNPs caused a persistent reduction in white blood cell (WBC) counts throughout the experiment, whereas platelet counts increased on days 7 and 28 but decreased on days 14 and 21; there was also an increase in the blood concentration of reduced glutathione on day 7 followed by a decrease on days 21 and 28. There were no significant changes in blood glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) activities or in the serum concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. Conclusion: The findings of this study raise questions about the potential transitory effects of AgNPs based on the changes in WBC and platelet counts, blood glutathione concentrations and macroscopic hepatic alterations.

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