AUTHOR=Vimercati Luigi , Cavone Domenica , Caputi Antonio , De Maria Luigi , Tria Michele , Prato Ermelinda , Ferri Giovanni Maria 

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00192

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2020.00192

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p>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 <italic>Tigriopus fulvus</italic> and the amphypod <italic>Corophium insidiosum</italic> was evaluated. Acute tests were conducted on adults of <italic>T. Fulvus</italic> nauplii and <italic>C. insidiosum</italic>. Both test species were exposed for 96 h to 5 increasing concentrations of ZnO NPs and ZnSO<sub>4</sub>H<sub>2</sub>O, and the endpoint was mortality. Statistical analysis revealed that the mean LC50 values of both ZnO NPs and ZnSO<sub>4</sub>H<sub>2</sub>O (ZnO NPs: <italic>F</italic> = 59.42; <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.0015; ZnSO<sub>4</sub>H<sub>2</sub>O: <italic>F</italic> = 25.57; <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.0015) were significantly lower for <italic>Tigriopus fulvus</italic> than for <italic>Corophium insidiosum</italic>. 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.</p>