Using zebrafish to study the biological impact of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

The often-surprising emergent properties include toxicity. The number of new nanoparticles is growing, requiring risk evaluation. This review highlights nanotoxicology studies that use zebrafish (Danio rerio) adults and embryos as model organisms. Zebrafish have been adopted because they are well-accepted vertebrate model organisms that can be obtained in large, simultaneously developing cohorts that are transparent and easy to observe. Development of organs is extremely rapid, and acute effects on internal organ formation can be observed in living animals. Zebrafish are inexpensive to maintain. Work studying metal and metal oxide nanoparticles has shown that toxicity can be caused by the nanoparticles directly, and by dissolution of the component elements. Studies have included assessments of morphological and transcriptional changes; addressed characterisation issues, uptake and possible organ/tissue targets, mechanisms of toxicity, dissolution, aggregation, and sedimentation. More recent work has explo...