title: Genotoxic and histopathological biomarkers for assessing the effects of magnetic exfoliated vermiculite and exfoliated vermiculite in Danio rerio.
abstract: Magnetic exfoliated vermiculite is a synthetic nanocomposite that quickly and efficiently absorbs organic compounds such as oil from water bodies. It was developed primarily to mitigate pollution, but the possible adverse impacts of its application have not yet been evaluated. In this context, the acute toxicity of magnetic exfoliated vermiculite and exfoliated vermiculite was herein assessed by genotoxic and histopathological biomarkers in zebrafish (Danio rerio). DNA fragmentation was statistically significant for all groups exposed to the magnetic exfoliated vermiculite and for fish exposed to the highest concentration (200mg/L) of exfoliated vermiculite, whereas the micronucleus frequency, nuclear abnormalities and histopathological alterations were not statistically significant for the fish exposed to these materials. In the intestinal lumen, epithelial cells and goblet cells, we found the presence of magnetic exfoliated vermiculite and exfoliated vermiculite, but no alterations or presence of the materials-test in the gills or liver were observed. Our findings suggest that the use of magnetic exfoliated vermiculite and exfoliated vermiculite during standard ecotoxicological assays caused DNA damage in D. rerio, whose alterations may be likely to be repaired, indicating that the magnetic nanoparticles have the ability to promote genotoxic damage, such as DNA fragmentation, but not mutagenic effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Brasília University, Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paolin Rocio
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Cáceres-Vélez
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Brasília University, Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Luiza
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Fascineli
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Brasília University, Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cesar Koppe
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Grisolia
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Institute, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Emília Celma
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Lima
authors.affiliation: Green Nanotechnology Group, Faculty of Ceilândia, Brasília University, Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo Henrique
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Physics Institute, Brasília University, Brasília, Brazil; Huazhong University of Science and Technology, School of Automation, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Paulo César
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: de Morais
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Brasília University, Brasília, Brazil. Electronic address: razevedo@unb.br.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bentes de Azevedo
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D009153:Mutagens / Q000633:toxicity*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D015415:Biomarkers; D009153:Mutagens; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C003760:vermiculite
keywords: Bioindicators; Ecotoxicology; Iron oxide nanoparticles; Water purification; Zebrafish