Abstract

DAVICO, Carla et al. Assessment of genotoxicity by Micronucleus frequency in Piaractus mesopotamicus erythrocytes exposed to silver nanoparticles in vivo. Acta toxicol. argent. [online]. 2015, vol.23, n.2, pp.73-78. ISSN 1851-3743.

The growing use of nanomaterials in consumer and industrial products has aroused global concern about possible adverse effects on biological systems. Due to the lack of a regulation framework and the absence of a consensus on the experimental protocols, ecotoxicological investigations are carried out much slower than the production of new nanoparticles. For this reason, there is a growing need for studies that provide knowledge about the risk of these emerging contaminants of unique properties. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of micronuclei (FMN) in erythrocytes of juvenile Piaractus mesopotamicus exposed to silver nanoparticles (nano-Ag; Nanotek SA) at concentrations of 0 μg·L^-1 (control); 2.5 μg·L^-1; 10 μg·L^-1; and 25 μg·L^-1, for 24 hours (n = 10 per treatment). The FMN show a significant increase (p <0.01) in fish exposed to 25 μg·L^-1 of Nano-Ag, while there were no significant differences among the groups exposed to 2.5 and 10 μg·L^-1 with the control. These results suggest that the aneugenics or clastogenics events may represent a possible mechanism of toxicity of Nano-Ag in this specie.

Keywords : Fishes; Nanomaterials; Micronucleus; Genotoxicity.