Comparison of toxic effects of iron-molybdenum polyoxometalates and mixture of their components

Introduction. The physicochemical properties and the impact on living organisms of nanoparticles and components that make up nanoparticles may differ radically, however, insufficient attention is paid to a comparative study of the toxicity of nanoparticles and constituents of nanoparticles.

Material and methods. Biochemical and hematological parameters in the blood of 50 male Wistar rats were determined after a single, seven-fold and thirty-fold intramuscular injection of an aqueous solution of iron-molybdenum nanocluster polyoxometalates (POM) and a mixture of the POM components at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg. A solution of a POM components’ mixture was obtained by the destruction of POM with an increase in pH, followed by neutralization, since POM are unstable in an alkaline medium.

Results. The introduction of POM did not cause deviations from the norm in the activity of AST, ALT, total alkaline phosphatase and its bone isoenzyme, α-amylase, protein content, urea and creatinine, which indicates the absence of cytolytic syndrome, including in the liver and myocardium, no damage to the acinar part of pancreas, changes in bone tissue, preservation of the protein-synthetic function of the liver and the filtering ability of the kidneys. The introduction of a solution of POM components (molybdenum, iron) was accompanied by an increase in the activity of AST, alkaline phosphatase, the AST / ALT ratio after 7 injections and an increase in the last two parameters after 30 injections. The impact of POM is characterized by an increase in the content of hemoglobin and erythrocytes in the blood and less pronounced leukopenia, in contrast to the mixture of POM components.

Conclusion. A less pronounced deviation from the norm of biochemical parameters and a lower degree of leukopenia make it possible to assess the effect of POM nanoparticles as less toxic than the action of POM components not organized into nanoparticles.