Stainless Steel-Synthesized Gold Nanoparticles: Insights into Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability and Microglial Interaction

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are emerging as promising tools in biomedical research due to their unique physicochemical properties. However, their interactions with resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS) and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) remain poorly understood. This work attempts to fill this gap by evaluating the interaction of green synthetic nanoparticles -prepared using stainless steel as a sustainable reducing agent-with microglia cells, as well as their ability to permeate and potentially affect BBB properties. Using in vitro BBB models, we demonstrate that stainless steel-synthesized AuNPs (ss-AuNPs) effectively cross the barrier without compromising its integrity. In microglial cells, ss-AuNPs exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxic effects, with higher concentrations reducing cell viability while inducing minimal inflammatory responses. Similarly, in primary microglial cultures, ss-AuNPs at higher doses stimulated interleukin-6 (IL-6) release, although no significant pro-inflammatory activation was observed at lower doses. These results highlight the potential of green-synthesized AuNPs for CNS-targeted applications while underscoring the importance of dose optimization for safety.