Identification of target organs of nanoscale copper particles in vivo

While benefits of nanotechnology are widely expected, the discussion of thepotentially adverse effects of their widespread use in the consumer and industrial products are just beginning to emerge. Nanosized copper are widely used in fields of lubricants, polymers/plastic, metallic coating and ink. Recently, we found that copper particles in different size can lead to different biological effects. To clarify the target organs of copper particles in different size, 17 μm copper particles, 25 nm copper particles, and ionic copper (CuCl2) in mice are investigated using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and nuclear analytical techniques, to evaluate the concentration of copper particles in different organs of mice after a single dose oral exposure. The results suggest that, on mass basis, few of microsized copper particles is distributed in organs except of lumen of gastrointestinal tract and also no pathological change is observed from any organs. But for nano-sized copper particles, they mainly distribute in kidney and blood, and cause significant pathological changes in kidney and spleen. While ionic copper is mainly distributed in liver and blood.