Fig. 1

In vivo toxicity of iron oxide MNPs coated with different molecules. a Scheme of the experimental design of the in vivo study of MNP toxicity and degradation. b Body weight of the mice treated with PBS (control) or the APS, DEX or DMSA coated MNPs monitored over a 15-month period after treatment. c Leukocytes in the C57BL/6 mice treated with PBS and the different MNPs. d,e Hepatic profile (aspartate aminotransferase -AST), alanine aminotransferase -ALT) in blood samples collected at different times post-administration from 7 mice each treated with PBS (control) or the APS, DEX or DMSA coated MNPs. The hepatic data were normalized to that of the control group administered PBS and the data are shown as the mean ± SD (n = 7) of each group at each time point. The dashed dotted lines show the normalization of the values with respect to the control (group of mice administered PBS). Kruskal–Wallis test: *p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 and *** p < 0.001