~1H NMR Based Metabolomics Studies of the Toxicity of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

摘要

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) are widely used in foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. In the present study, male and female zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of TiO2-NPs dosed at 0.1 mg/L (low) and 5.0 mg/L (high), respectively. ~1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) profiling combined with univariate and multivariate statistics was used to assess metabolic alterations in the TiO2-NP-treated fish. Purine metabolism-including the anabolism/catabolism of ATP, ADP, AMP, xanthine, and inosine-was significantly influenced, which may indicate some genotoxicity resulting from TiO2-NP exposure. Increasing the dose and duration of TiO2-NP exposure led to additional metabolic disturbances in glycerophospholipid metabolism and the Krebs cycle. Our findings demonstrate the potential applicability of using a metabolomics approach to determine underlying metabolic disturbances caused by TiO2-NPs.