The toxicity and oxidative stress of TiO2 nanoparticles in marine abalone (Haliotis diversicolor supertexta)

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin 2011, Vol.63 (5-12), p.334-338
• Main Authors: Zhu, Xiaoshan, Zhou, Jin, Cai, Zhonghua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: abalone; acute toxicity; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; antioxidant activity; antioxidants; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; environmental impact; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastropoda; glutathione; Glutathione - metabolism; Haliotis diversicolor supertexta; Invertebrates; lipid peroxidation; Marine and brackish environment; Marine organism; Metal Nanoparticles - toxicity; Mollusca; nanoparticles; nitric oxide; Nitric Oxide - metabolism; Oxidative Stress; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Sea water ecosystems; superoxide dismutase; Superoxide Dismutase - metabolism; Synecology; TiO2 nanoparticle; Titanium - toxicity; titanium dioxide; Toxicity; Toxicity Tests, Acute; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; water pollution
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.03.006

► No acute mortality was found. ► Lipid peroxidation level increased as the nTiO2 dose increased. ► Nitric oxide was produced in excess. ► nTiO2 can exert oxidative stress on abalone. The increasing use of nanotechnology highlights the need to understand and clarify the environmental impacts of nanomaterials. In this study, the acute toxicity and oxidative stress of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO2) in mature marine abalone (Haliotis diversicolor supertexta) were assessed. No acute effect was found in any of the treatment groups with nTiO2 concentration gradients ranging from 0.1 to 10mg/L. However, the activity of an antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) significantly increased in the group that was exposed to 1.0mg/L nTiO2. The content of a non-enzymatic antioxidant, glutathione (GSH), significantly decreased in the groups with an nTiO2 concentration ⩾1.0mg/L. The level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) was found to increase as the nTiO2 dose increased. Furthermore, NO was produced in excess in abalone. These results demonstrated that, although nTiO2 is not acutely toxic to abalone, it does exert oxidative stress on abalone.