Boron Compounds Counteracts Oxidative Stress Mediated Genotoxicity Induced By Fe_3O_4 Nanoparticles In Vitro

摘要

Due to rapid growing of nanotechnology, it is currently being used in many areas including biotechnology, electronics, drug delivery systems, cosmetics, material science and biosensors. Oxidative stress is considered as main cause behind the toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs). Recent reports indicate that boron is effective in protecting cells or organisms against oxidative damages by enhancing antioxidant defense mechanisms. However, protective role of boron compounds in nanotoxicity is not investigated yet. Therefore we assessed the potential protective role of boric acid (BA) and borax (BX) against the toxic responses of nano-Fe_3O_4 particles (IO NPs) in cultured human whole blood cells. Our results showed that IO NPs induced genotoxicity in human lymphocytes demonstrated by sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) assays. Again, IO NPs caused decreases of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and decreases of total oxidative stress (TOS) levels in vitro. Co-application of boric acid and borax (2.5 to 10 ppm) into the cell cultures significantly ameliorated genotoxicity and oxidative stress caused by IO NPs. In a conclusion, this study is the first report revealing that BA and BX significantly protected human blood cells from the toxicity of IO NPs, which is mediated through the generation of oxidative stress and depletion of antioxidant capacity.