Cardioprotective role of biosynthesized gold nanoparticles compared to an iodinated-based x-ray contrast agent in Male Wistar Rats

Contrast agents (CAs) are used in medical imaging to enhance the visibility of radiographic images. However, its circulation affects the hemodynamics of the cardiovascular system through which the substance traverses. With the advent of nanotechnology, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been proposed as a potential CA to overcome the limitations of the existing one, but the challenges encountered in the physical and chemical methods of synthesizing AuNPs have resulted in studies suggesting biological methods. This research, therefore, synthesized and characterized AuNPs using the extract of Psidium guajava and Corchorus olitorus and compared their performance with an existing CA (ECA) administered to rats and irradiated at 40, 80 and 120 kV of x-ray with a current of 8 mAs on cardiac functions. The morphology of the particles is spherical, with an average size of 8.23 ± 1.03 nm for the AuNPs capped with P. guavaja and 6.57 ± 1.62 nm for the AuNPs capped with C. clitoris. The results obtained for the biomarkers revealed that the group injected with the ECA showed significant decrease in antioxidants with a concomitant increase in cardiac and inflammatory markers at p < 0.05 compared to those of the control and those injected with the synthesized AuNPs. The photomicrograph revealed a little difference in the cellular structure for the group of rats injected with the ECA compared to those injected with the synthesized AuNPs. Hence, this study has established that green synthesized AuNPs can be applied for several biomedical applications without posing any threat to the hearts.