Figure 3.

Tissue concentrations of PEG-coated ¹ (A) and uncoated (B) 23 nm gold spheres 6, 12 and 24 hours post-gavage. Total gold measured in tissues and blood six, twelve and twenty-four hours following oral gavage of PEG-coated (A) and uncoated (B) 23 nm AuNPs suspended in water. Gold was measured using ICP-MS. Data are presented as average ± SD, n = 5. Statistical significance: * indicates a p-value ≤ 0.05, ** indicates a p-value ≤ 0.01 and *** indicates a p-value ≤ 0.005. ¹Particle size given for PEG-coated particles is reflective of the gold core, the hydrodynamic diameter of the PEG-coated particles was determined to be 45 nm.