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In vivo toxicity evaluation of biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles and gold nanoparticles on adult zebrafish: a comparative study

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Abstract

In this study, toxicity of biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was compared using zebrafish as a model organism. At 96 h, LC50 of AgNPs and AuNPs was found to be 24.5 µg/L and 41 mg/L, respectively. Following the LC50 determination, half of the LC50 of AgNPs (12.25 µg/L) and AuNPs (20.5 mg/L) was exposed to adult zebrafishes for 14 days. Morphological changes, liver marker enzymes, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, genotoxic effects and mRNA expression levels of oxidative stress and innate immune response related genes were studied using nanoparticle treated gill, liver and blood cells. In this study, AgNP-treated gill and liver tissues showed a number of morphological changes such as cell membrane damage, irregular cell outlines, pyknotic nuclei and complete disruption of gill and liver cells; on the contrary, AuNPs treated liver tissues alone showed such changes. The levels of liver marker enzymes such as alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were increased after AgNPs treatment when compared to AuNPs treatment. AgNP-treated liver cells showed higher levels of ROS generation than the control; on the other hand, AuNPs treatment exhibited lower levels of ROS generation than the control. Interestingly, AgNP-treated blood cells showed micronuclei formation and nuclear abnormalities, while AuNPs treatment did not show such effects. Based on these observations, it is clear that AgNPs may cause oxidative stress and immunotoxicity to adult zebrafish than the AuNPs. However, these results clearly reveal the significance of relatively safe and less toxic bionanomaterials for possible biomedical applications.

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Acknowledgements

RR sincerely acknowledges University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India for awarding UGC-BSR Meritorious Fellowship in Sciences. This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2013R1A1A2007953) and also funds from Chonbuk National University, Republic of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany, School of Life Sciences, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600 025, India

    Rajan Ramachandran & Thangavelu P. Kalaichelvan

  2. Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561-756, Republic of Korea

    Chandran Krishnaraj & Soon-Il Yun

  3. R&D Centre, Eureka Forbes Ltd, Kudlu, Bangalore, 560 068, India

    Chandran Krishnaraj & V. K. Abhay Kumar

  4. Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Stacey L. Harper

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  1. Rajan Ramachandran
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Correspondence to Soon-Il Yun.

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Ramachandran, R., Krishnaraj, C., Kumar, V.K.A. et al. In vivo toxicity evaluation of biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles and gold nanoparticles on adult zebrafish: a comparative study. 3 Biotech 8, 441 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-018-1457-y

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