Gold nanoparticles with different shapes can cause distinct effect on mitochondria bioenergetics

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) offer a wide range of applications in biomedicine due to their unique physicochemical properties, usually associated with their size and shape. The effects of drugs and other materials, such as nanoparticles, on mitochondrial bioenergetics can be analyzed to evaluate their toxicity. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the shape-dependent effect of AuNPs on mitochondrial bioenergetics. As a case of study, we exposed isolated rat liver mitochondria to gold nanoparticles with different shapes. Our initial results showed that the presence of the same amounts of gold nanorods (AuNRs) and nanospheres (AuNSs), resulted in similar effects of decreases in mitochondrial oxygen consumption, H 2 O 2 levels, and swelling, even in the presence of Cyclosporin A (CsA), an inhibitor of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP). However, the mitochondrial electrochemical potential could be either sustained or dissipated depending on the total surface area of the particles in the medium. Graphical abstract Toxicity of gold nanoparticles with different shapes on isolated mitochondria