title: In Vivo Nanotoxicity Testing using the Zebrafish Embryo Assay.
abstract: Nanoparticles are increasingly used for biomedical purposes. Many different diagnostic and therapeutic applications are envisioned for nanoparticles, but there are often also serious concerns regarding their safety. Given the fact that numerous new nanomaterials are being developed every day, and that not much is known about the long-term toxicological impact of exposure to nanoparticles, there is an urgent need to establish efficient methods for nanotoxicity testing. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo assay has recently emerged as an interesting 'intermediate' method forin vivonanotoxicity screening, enabling (semi-) high-throughput analyses in a system significantly more complex than cultured cells, but at the same time also less 'invasive' and less expensive than large-scale biocompatibility studies in mice or rats. The zebrafish embryo assay is relatively well-established in the environmental sciences, but it has not yet gained wide notice in the nanomedicine field. Using prototypic polymeric drug carriers, gold-based nanodiagnostics and nanotherapeutics, and iron oxide-based nanodiagnostics, we here show that toxicity testing using zebrafish embryos is easy, efficient and informative, and faithfully reflects, yet significantly extends, cell-based toxicity testing. We therefore expect that the zebrafish embryo assay will become a popular future tool forin vivonanotoxicity screening.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Molecular Imaging, University Clinic and Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH - Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Larissa Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.forename: Susanne K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Golombek
authors.forename: Marianne E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mertens
authors.forename: Yu
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authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Dominic
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authors.lastname: Laaf
authors.forename: Janine
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authors.lastname: Broda
authors.forename: Jabadurai
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authors.lastname: Jayapaul
authors.forename: Diana
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authors.lastname: Möckel
authors.forename: Vladimir
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authors.lastname: Subr
authors.forename: Wim E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Hennink
authors.forename: Gert
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authors.forename: Ulrich
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authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Willi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jahnen-Dechent
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kiessling
authors.forename: Twan
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authors.lastname: Lammers