Nanoparticles: An Experimental Study of Zinc Nanoparticles Toxicity on Marine Crustaceans. General Overview on the Health Implications in Humans.

The presence of products containing nanoparticles or nanofibers is rapidly growing. Nanotechnology involves a wide spectrum of industrial fields. There is a lack of information regarding the toxicity of these nanoparticles in aqueous media. The potential acute toxicity of ZnO NPs using two marine crustacean species: the copepod Tigriopus fulvus and the amphypod Corophium insidiosum was evaluated. Acute tests were conducted on adults of T. Fulvus nauplii and C. insidiosum . Both test species were exposed for 96 h to 5 increasing concentrations of ZnO NPs and ZnSO ₄ H ₂ O, and the endpoint was mortality. Statistical analysis revealed that the mean LC50 values of both ZnO NPs and ZnSO ₄ H ₂ O (ZnO NPs: F = 59.42; P < 0.0015; ZnSO ₄ H ₂ O: F = 25.57; P < 0.0015) were significantly lower for Tigriopus fulvus than for Corophium insidiosum . This result confirms that the toxic effect could be mainly attributed to the Zn ions, confirming that the dissolution processes play a crucial role in the toxicity of the ZnO NPs.
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