title: Toxic effects of colloidal nanosilver in zebrafish embryos.
abstract: A variety of consumer products containing silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are currently marketed. However, their safety for humans and for the environment has not yet been established and no standard method to assess their toxicity is currently available. The objective of this work was to develop an effective method to test Ag NP toxicity and to evaluate the effects of ion release and Ag NP size on a vertebrate model. To this aim, the zebrafish animal model was exposed to a solution of commercial nanosilver. While the exposure of embryos still surrounded by the chorion did not allow a definite estimation of the toxic effects exerted by the compound, the exposure for 48 h of 3-day-old zebrafish hatched embryos afforded a reliable evaluation of the effects of Ag NPs. The effects of the exposure were detected especially at molecular level; in fact, some selected genes expressed differentially after the exposure. The Ag NP toxic performance was due to the combined effect of Ag(+) ion release and Ag NP size. However, the effect of NP size was particularly detectable at the lowest concentration of nanosilver tested (0.01 mg l(-1)) and depended on the solubilization media. The results obtained indicate that in vivo toxicity studies of nanosilver should be performed with ad hoc methods (in this case using hatched embryos) that might be different depending on the type of nanosilver. Moreover, the addition of this compound to commercial products should take into consideration the Ag NP solubilization media.
authors.affiliation: AZTI-Tecnalia, Food Research Division, Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia, Astondo Bidea 609, 48160, Derio, Spain.
authors.forename: Maider
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olasagasti
authors.forename: Antonietta M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gatti
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Capitani
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barranco
authors.forename: Miguel Angel
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pardo
authors.forename: Kepa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Escuredo
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rainieri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003102:Colloids; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity*; D012996:Solutions; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids; D012996:Solutions; D012834:Silver
keywords: Metals; Nanoparticles; Nanotoxicity; Silver; Zebrafish