Toxicity of boron and vanadium nanoparticles on Danio rerio embryos - Phenotypical, biochemical, and behavioral alterations

Santos, J; Barreto, Â; Almeida, C; Azevedo, C; Domingues, I; Amorim, MJB; Maria, VL

HERO ID

10314260

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2021

Language

English

PMID

34364155

HERO ID 10314260
In Press No
Year 2021
Title Toxicity of boron and vanadium nanoparticles on Danio rerio embryos - Phenotypical, biochemical, and behavioral alterations
Authors Santos, J; Barreto, Â; Almeida, C; Azevedo, C; Domingues, I; Amorim, MJB; Maria, VL
Journal Aquatic Toxicology
Volume 238
Page Numbers 105930
Abstract Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) are emerging contaminants of concern and it is important to understand their environmental behavior and ecological risks to exposed organisms. Despite their ubiquitous presence in the environment, there is little information about the hazards of certain NPs, such as boron (BNPs) and vanadium (VNPs). The aim of the present research was to investigate the effects of commercial BNPs and VNPs (80 to 100 nm) to zebrafish embryos, at different levels of biological organization. A range of nominal concentrations for both NPs (0, 0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/L) was tested. Due to the presence of triton X-100 in the NPs' stock dispersions, an additional control group was included (0.001% triton X-100). Survival, hatching, and malformations of embryos were assessed for 96 hours (h) exposure. Locomotor behavior was evaluated at 120 h. Furthermore, embryos were exposed to 0, 1, and 10 mg/L of NPs to evaluate a set of biomarker responses after 96 h: cholinesterase (ChE) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities, total glutathione (TG) and energy budgets levels. VNPs induced malformations (10 mg/L), hyperactivity (10 mg/L), erratic swimming (0.01 mg/L), altered swimming pattern (>0.01 mg/L), delayed hatching (10 mg/L) and altered biochemical responses involved in antioxidant defense (GST and TG at >1 mg/L), neurotransmission (ChE at 10 mg/L) and energy metabolism (lipids at >1 mg/L and carbohydrates at 10 mg/L). BNPs caused malformations (10 mg/L), affected swimming pattern (>0.01 mg/L), induced erratic swimming (10 mg/L) and decreased TG content and GST activity (>1 mg/L). At the same concentrations, VNPs affected a greater number of endpoints than BNPs, demonstrating a greater toxicity to zebrafish embryos. The present study shows that BNPs and VNPs may affect aquatic organisms, albeit at relatively great non-environmentally relevant concentrations, reinforcing the importance of the risk assessment of different NPs.
Doi 10.1016/j.aquatox.2021.105930
Pmid 34364155
Wosid WOS:000687540500002
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Is Public Yes
Language Text English