Eco Friendly Fabrication of Gold Nanoclusters and Their Induction of Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis After Intratracheal Instillation in Rats

Cardiac diseases instigated by the exposure of nanoparticles have gained tremendous attention of research scientists in recent days. After entering the blood stream, nanoparticles have the ability to affect the cardiomyocytes, resulting in the cardiac failure. In this work, the toxicity of biosynthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on cardiomyocytes of rats was studies. AuNPs were prepared by the reduction of aqueous HAuCl 4 using C. viscosa leaf extract. An optical absorption band for AuNPs was found at 540 nm using UV–visible spectrophotometer. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed the formation of gold nanocluster with size existing in the range of 1 to 1.5 nm. Also, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic results confirmed the capping of AuNPs with C. viscosa leaf extract polyphenols. Further, toxicity studies revealed that the levels of gold in the serum and heart, and myocardial enzymes in treated animals were suggestively improved in a concentration-dependent way. Furthermore, treatment with AuNPs resulted the prominent ultrastructural and histological changes in the hearts of treated rats. Additionally, a substantial apoptosis was found in the treated animals. The obtained results indicated that AuNPs has the possibility to enter the circulatory system via lungs, and are circulated to heart resulting the cardiovascular injury. AuNPs-persuaded apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway may play a key role in inducing cardiac failure.