US EPA

4847182 

Journal Article 

Quantitative Determination of Silica Nanoparticles in Biological Matrices and Their Pharmacokinetics and Toxicokinetics in Rats 

Paek, HeeJ; Chung, HaeEun; Lee, JA; Kim, MiK; Lee, YJ; Kim, MinS; Kim, SuH; Maeng, EunHo; Lee, JK; Jeong, J; Choi, SooJin 

2014 

6 

7 

1605-1610 

10.1166/sam.2014.1817 

WOS:000338125200048 

Silica nanoparticles have been widely applied in diverse fields including manufacturing, sensing, coating, medicine, drug delivery, and food additives. Despite their wide range of applications, analysis method and toxicity of silica nanoparticles in vivo have not been clearly determined. In this study, an accurate and practical analytical procedure for the quantitative determination of silica nanoparticles in biological matrices was investigated using lithium metaborate fusion, followed by molybdenum blue method. Pharmacokinetics of silica nanoparticles with respect to particle size (20 and 100 nm) was investigated after single-dose oral administration to rats. Furthermore, toxicokinetic study was conducted following repeated dose oral administration for 28 days. The results showed that the present method can be useful to determine silica nanoparticle level in biological system, which are essential to evaluate their kinetic behaviors and tissue accumulation in vivo. Pharmacokinetic parameters increased as the dose administered increased, but any significant effects of particle size or gender on kinetic behaviors were not seen. Toxicokinetics of silica nanoparticles following repeated administration were not that different from pharmacokinetic profiles obtained after single-dose treatment, suggesting their low chronic oral toxicity potential. These findings will be useful to determine tissue accumulation of silica nanoparticles as well as to predict their toxicity potential in vivo. 

Silica Nanoparticles; Quantitative Determination; Pharmacokinetics; Toxicokinetics