Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin 2228-5881 11 1 2021 01 01 Are Silver Nanoparticles Useful for Treating Second-Degree Burns? An Experimental Study in Rats 130 136 10.34172/apb.2021.014 EN Débora Antunes Neto Moreno https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9120-170X Mirela Santos Saladini Fabia Judice Marquesudice Viroel Murilo Melo Juste Dini Thaisa Borim Pickler Jorge Amaral Filho Carolina Alves dos Santos Valquíria Miwa Hanai-Yoshida Denise Grotto Marli Gerenutti Stephen Hyslop Yoko Oshima-Franco https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4972-8444 Journal Article 10.34172/apb.2021.014 2019 09 17 2020 04 16 Purpose: In this work, the potential usefulness of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for treating burn wounds was examined. Methods: Second-degree burns were induced in male Wistar rats by touching the skin with a heated (70°C) metallic device for 10 s, after which the animals were randomly allocated to one of two groups: control (n=8, treated with sterile saline) and experimental (n=8, treated with AgNPs, 0.081 mg/mL; 50 µL applied to the burn surface). Seven, 14, 21 and 28 days after lesion induction two rats from each group were killed and blood samples were collected for a complete blood count and to assess oxidative stress. The livers were examined macroscopically and skin samples were collected for histological analysis. Results: Macroscopically, wound healing and skin remodeling in the experimental group were similar to the saline-treated rats. Likewise, there were no significant differences in the histological parameters between the two groups. However, treatment with AgNPs caused a persistent reduction in white blood cell (WBC) counts throughout the experiment, whereas platelet counts increased on days 7 and 28 but decreased on days 14 and 21; there was also an increase in the blood concentration of reduced glutathione on day 7 followed by a decrease on days 21 and 28. There were no significant changes in blood glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) activities or in the serum concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. Conclusion: The findings of this study raise questions about the potential transitory effects of AgNPs based on the changes in WBC and platelet counts, blood glutathione concentrations and macroscopic hepatic alterations.