Prevention of the Combined Cytotoxic Effect of Selenium and Copper Oxide Nanoparticles in the Animal Experiment

Background: Copper ore processing plants are the emission sources of aerosols having a complex chemical composition. The aerosol components polluting both the workplace air and the ambient air of the adjacent populated areas include selenium, copper, and nanoparticles of these metal oxides.
Objective: To evaluate the combined cytotoxic effect of selenium and copper oxide nanoparticles following the administration of a bioprophylactic complex.
Materials and methods: The exposure to cytotoxic chemicals was modeled on outbred female rats by a single intratracheal injection of a suspension of selenium and copper oxide nanoparticles at a concentration of 0.25 g/L, obtained by laser ablation. Cytological and biochemical parameters of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured 24 hours after the exposure. A specially developed bioprophylactic complex was administered to a part of the experimental animals with feed and drink during a month prior to the injection.
Results: A single intratracheal instillation of the suspension of SeO and CuO nanoparticles altered BALF cytological and biochemical parameters, thus indicating their pronounced cytotoxic effect. In the group of the exposed rats administered a preliminary course of biological prophylaxis, we observed a decrease in the absolute number of neutrophils and the neutrophil to alveolar macrophage ratio, which is an indirect indicator of the cytotoxic effect, and the activity of aspartate aminotransferase in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.
Conclusion: The science-based and experimentally tested complex of bioprotectors can attenuate a combined cytotoxic health effect of the exposure to selenium and copper oxide nanoparticles.

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