ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nanotechnol.
Sec. Biomedical Nanotechnology
Evaluation of the genotoxicity of gold nanoparticles by single-cell electrophoresis
Provisionally accepted
Juan De Dios De La Cruz-Barrios1
Paulina Abrica-González1,2*
Sinaí Guadalupe Gutierrez Cruz1
Alejandro Muñoz-Diosdado1
Jorge A. Mendoza Pérez3Armando Y. Sánchez-González1- 1Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Biotecnología, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
- 2Instituto de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y Cambio Climático, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
- 3Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
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The distinctive characteristics and wide-ranging applications of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have sparked considerable scientific interest, leading to increased use and a rise in publications and patents. However, their environmental and genotoxic impact remains poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the genotoxicity and mutagenicity of AuNPs in germinated roots of Vicia faba using three approaches: a comet assay to detect DNA damage, mitotic index analysis, and assessment of chromosomal abnormalities. We observed a reduced mitotic index, increased chromosomal abnormalities, and significant DNA damage in treated samples, indicating genetic alterations and a potential environmental risk. These findings underscore the significance of evaluating the biological effects of AuNPs and demonstrate that single-cell electrophoresis is a reliable tool for assessing genetic damage in plants.
Keywords: AuNPs, Comet Assay, Vicia faba, mutagenicity, Mitotic Index, Chromosomalabnormalities, DNA
Received: 01 Aug 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 De La Cruz-Barrios, Abrica-González, Gutierrez Cruz, Muñoz-Diosdado, Mendoza Pérez and Sánchez-González. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Paulina Abrica-González, pabricag@ipn.mx
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