Toxic Effects of TiO 2 NPs on Zebrafish

Tianle Tang, Zhang Zhang and Xiaopeng Zhu
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Tianle Tang: School of Tropical Medicine and Laboratory Medicine, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 570228, China
Zhang Zhang: Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources, Ministry of Education, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Xiaopeng Zhu: Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources, Ministry of Education, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) have become a widely used nanomaterial due to the photocatalytic activity and absorption of ultraviolet light of specific wavelengths. This study investigated the toxic effects of rutile TiO 2 NPs on zebrafish by examining its embryos and adults. In the embryo acute toxicity test, exposure to 100 mg/L TiO 2 NPs didn’t affect the hatching rate of zebrafish embryos, and there was no sign of deformity. In the adult toxicity test, the effects of TiO 2 NPs on oxidative damage in liver, intestine and gill tissue were studied. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and fluorescence-based quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) were used to detect the three antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione S transferase (GSTs) in the above mentioned zebrafish organs at protein and gene levels. The results showed that long-term exposure to TiO 2 NPs can cause oxidative damage to organisms; and compared with the control group, the activity of the three kinds of enzyme declined somewhat at the protein level. In addition, long-term exposure to TiO 2 NPs could cause high expression of CAT, SOD and GSTs in three organs of adult zebrafish in order to counter the adverse reaction. The effects of long-term exposure to TiO 2 NPs to adult zebrafish were more obvious in the liver and gill.

Keywords: TiO 2 NPs; zebrafish; oxidative damage; quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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