Effects Of Nano-Copper And Other Nano-particles On The Development Of Zebrafish Embryos

Nanotechnology is a major innovative scientific and economic growth area. Nanometer material because of their diversified physical and chemical effects, have been widely used in a number of fields. As a result, the effects of nano-material on ecoenvironment and human health are attracting considerable and increasing concern of the public and government worldwide. The surface properties and very small size of nanoparticles and nanotubes provide surfaces that may bind and transport toxic chemical pollutants, as well as possibly being toxic in their own right by generation reactive radicals. There is a wealth of evidence for the harmful effects of nanoscale particulates, which when inhaled can cause a number of pulmonary pathologies in mammals and humans. Moreover, it is possibly that release of manufactured nanoparticles into the aquatic environment. And this may present a variety of hazards for aquatic environment. But the research of this kind is few.So this paper studies the effects of a widely used nanomaterial-Nanocopper on zebrafish embryos. And discusses the functional mechanism of Nano-Cu. Main results are summarized as follows:1. Establish an initial exposure model of zebrafish embryos2. Test the solubility of Nano-Cu3. Study the effects of Nano-Cu and Cu²⁺ exposure on zebrafish embryos(1) Zebrafish embryos were all dead at higher concentrations (0.5mg/L, 1mg/L).(2) The endpoints of the number of active movement in 20s at 24hpf and the heart rate at 48hpf were rising with the concentration growing of Nano-Cu and Cu²⁺.(3) Nano-Cu and Cu²⁺ exposure can inhibit incubation of zebrafish embryos.(4) The rate of larva malformation after 96h exposure is rising with the Nano-Cu and Cu²⁺ concentration's increasing.The consequences of the exposure found in present work demonstrated that nano copper can inhibit the growing of zebrafish embryos. Such as inducing the length of the embryos, increasing the time of zebrafish embryos hatched out; and Nano-Cu also can make zebrafish larva malformation. For examples: tail/spinal cord flexure, cardiac malformation and yolk sack edema. But the functional mechanism of the Nano-Cu exposure need further study.And secondly, this paper also studies the effects of several Nano-oxides on the hatching rate of zebrafish embryos at 96h, including nano-ZnO, nano-TiO₂, nano-Fe₂O₃, nano-Fe₃O₄ and nano-SiO₂. The results showed that different nano-oxides had different effects on hatching rate of zebrafish embryos, suggesting that the toxicity was much related to their own components. Nano-ZnO could decrease the hatching rate of embryos in a concentration-dependent way and had a higher toxicity. Other nano-oxides, including nano-TiO₂, nano-Fe₃O₄, nano-Fe₂O₃ and nano-SiO₂, had no effect on embryonic hatching rate.