Nanoparticles: An Experimental Study of Zinc Nanoparticles Toxicity on Marine Crustaceans. General Overview on the Health Implications in Humans

Abstract

The presence of products containing nanoparticles or nanofibers is rapidly growing. Nanotechnology involves a wide spectrum of industrial fields. There is a lack of information regarding the toxicity of these nanoparticles in aqueous media. The potential acute toxicity of ZnO NPs using two marine crustacean species: the copepod Tigriopus fulvus and the amphypod Corophium insidiosum was evaluated. Acute tests were conducted on adults of T. Fulvus nauplii and C. insidiosum. Both test species were exposed for 96 h to 5 increasing concentrations of ZnO NPs and ZnSO 4 H 2 O, and the endpoint was mortality. Statistical analysis revealed that the mean LC50 values of both ZnO NPs and ZnSO 4 H 2 O (ZnO NPs: F = 59.42; P < 0.0015; ZnSO 4 H 2 O: F = 25.57; P < 0.0015) were significantly lower for Tigriopus fulvus than for Corophium insidiosum. This result confirms that the toxic effect could be mainly attributed to the Zn ions, confirming that the dissolution processes play a crucial role in the toxicity of the ZnO NPs.

Effectiveness and safety of zinc oxide nanoparticle‐coated socks compared to uncoated socks for the prevention of pitted keratolysis: a double‐blinded, randomized, controlled trial study

“…The safety and environmental effects of ZnO-NP have shown deleterious effects on marine life. 22,24 The significance is not clear at this time. However, modification of the manufacturing process, such as size and shape determination, and surface functionalization of the nanoparticles to improve their selectivity reduce unwanted toxicity and off-target effects.…”

Environmental Photocatalytic Degradation of Antidepressants with Solar Radiation: Kinetics, Mineralization, and Toxicity

“…Hence, more investigation, with standard experimental conditions, is needed to better understand ZnO NP toxicity at the cellular and physiological levels, as these NPs may enter the food chains. Environmental and human exposure due to nanomaterial residues in water, air, soil, and crops is expected to increase with exposure routes, including possible bioaccumulation in the environment and food chain [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ].…”

Comparative toxicity of ionic and nanoparticulate zinc in the species Cymodoce truncata, Gammarus aequicauda and Paracentrotus lividus

“…1 Relationship between concentration and mortality in C. truncata (a and b) and G. aequicauda (c and d) exposed to ZnO NPs or ZnSO 4 for 24 to 96 h (as mean mortality values ± standard deviation; n = 9 per species and per Zn form; post hoc Tukey's test results in Table S1, Supplemental Material); data were normalized to negative controls exposure to ZnO NPs (35 ± 10 nm, mean diameter at 1 mg/L) can significantly affect the survival, growth and reproduction of Corophium volutator. It is worth to note that toxicity data of ZnO NPs and ZnSO 4 are often based only on nominal concentrations (Vimercati et al 2020), without taking into consideration the possible different effects of the high ionic strength of the saline medium on NPs (in the case of marine tests) as well as their sedimentation rate or shielding effect (i.e. reduction of the repulsive force among NPs due to their relative charge) (Rotini et al 2017).…”

“…The presence of NPs in marine systems, in particular ZnO NPs, is a great concern, and the optimization of easy-toperform and quick-response tools specifically tailored to evaluate their effects represents a mandatory issue. The ecotoxicological effects of ZnO NPs have been investigated by acute toxicity tests on a wide number of freshwater organisms, including bacteria (Sirelkhatim et al 2015), algae (Franklin et al 2007), crustaceans (Prato et al 2020;Vimercati et al 2020;Wang et al 2009) and fish (Khosravi-Katuli et al 2018). Studies on ZnO NPs ecotoxicity have been performed also on marine organisms belonging to different taxonomic groups, including microalgae, molluscs, crustaceans and fishes (Abdel-Khalek 2015;Fairbairn et al 2011;Minetto et al 2016;Prato et al 2020;Schiavo et al 2018;Vimercati et al 2020;Wong et al 2010).…”