Bioaccumulation, Subacute Toxicity, and Tissue Distribution of Engineered Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Goldfish (Carassius auratus)

摘要

Theincreased use of nanosizedmaterials is likely to result in the release of these particles into the environment. It is, however, unclear if these materials are harmful to aquatic animals. In this study, the sublethal effects of exposure of low and high concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO_2 NPs) on goldfish (Carassius auratus) were investigated. Accumulation of TiO_2 NPs increased from42.71 to 110.68 ppb in the intestine and from4.10 to 9.86 ppb in the gills of the goldfishwith increasing exposure dose from10 to 100mg/L TiO_2 NPs. No significant accumulation in themuscle and brain of the fish was detected.Malondialdehyde as a biomarker of lipid oxidation was detected in the liver of the goldfish.Moreover, TiO_2 NPs exposure inhibited growth of the goldfish. Although there was an increase (8.1%) in the body weights of the goldfish for the control group, in the low and high exposure groups 1.8% increase and 19.7% decrease were measured, respectively. The results of this study contribute to the current understanding of the potential ecotoxicological effects of nanoparticles and highlight the importance of characterization of NPs in understanding their behavior, uptake, and effects in aquatic systems and in fish.