Biophysical Methods for Testing Nanomaterials for Biomedical and Ecotoxicological Purposes Using Daphnia magna as a Model Organism

Abstract

A review of image visualization methods and other biophysical approaches that demonstrate the validity of using higher invertebrates from the crustacean subtype Daphnia magna as a test model for biomedical and ecotoxicological studies is presented. The main characteristics of animals are described, such as a transparent body, small size, filter type of nutrition, and the presence of well-formed organs, as well as a short life cycle, high fertility and sensitivity to toxicants, which allow the use of this test organism in in vivo experiments as a model alternative to warm-blooded animals. The publications are reviewed in which D. magna was used as a model for visualizing the accumulation and distribution of nanomaterials in the body, as well as for analyzing the mechanisms of cytotoxicity. The methods of fluorescence imaging, interference microscopy and spectrophotometry are described.