TABLE 3.

AuNPs for neuroinflammation and their mechanisms as part of in vitro and in vivo models.

Cells/animals	Diameter (nm)	Treatment	Dose	Mechanism and detected inflammatory cytokines	References
In vitro
BV2 cells	27 nm	24 h co-culture	100 µg/ml	iNOS and COX-2 mRNA	Ozdal et al. (2019)
BV2 cells	100 nm	24 h co-culture	20 µg/ml	NO, PGE2, IL-6, and IL-1β	Xue et al. (2019)
BV2 cells	35.04 ± 4.02 nm	24 h co-culture	>20 μg/ml	NF-κB, JAK/STAT, MAPK, and PLD pathways	Park et al. (2019)
				NO, PGE2, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6
BV2 cells, N2a cells	1.87 ± 0.14 nm	24 h co-culture	<5 µg/ml	NF-κB pathway	Xiao et al. (2020)
				IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, and iNOS
Mouse microglia N9 cell line	Not Given	24 h co-culture	10 µg/ml	NO	Gonzalez-Carter et al. (2019)
In vivo
Wistar male rats	20 nm	The injection was given every 48 h over 21 days, beginning 24 h after AD model induction	2.5 mg/kg	IL-1β, IL-4, and TNF-α	Dos Santos Tramontin et al. (2020)
C57BL/6 mice	100 nm	C57BL/6 mice were induced with Parkinsonism for 5 consecutive days and treated only with 20 mg/kg body wt. of Paeonia moutan–AuNPs for 14 days	20 mg/kg	NO, PGE2, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α	Xue et al. (2019)
C57BL/6 mice	1.87 ± 0.14 nm	The OGD-challenged brain slices were treated with AuNCs (0, 2 or 5 ug/mL, 0 ug/mL served as OGD controls). After 48 h treatment, the samples were fixed using 4% PFA.	5 μg/ml	NF-κB pathway	Xiao et al. (2020)
				IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, iNOS, and ROS
Male Wistar rats	20 nm	Rats received 50 mg/kg of AuNP and/or NAC (20 mg/kg) s.c. immediately after surgery and 12 h after surgery	50 mg/kg	TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6	Petronilho et al. (2020)
Wistar male rats	20 nm	The intraperitoneal GNPs treatment was initiated 48 h after administration of streptozotocin. GNPs administration frequency was every 48 h until the 21st after stereotactic surgery	2.5 mg/kg	NF-kB pathway	Muller et al. (2017)
				IL-1β