Comparative Analysis of the Developmental Toxicity in Xenopus laevis and Danio rerio Induced by Al₂O₃ Nanoparticle Exposure

Abstract

Engineered aluminum oxide nanoparticles (Al2O3 NPs) having high‐grade thermal stability and water‐dispersion properties are extensively used in different industries and personal care products. Toxicological response evaluation of these NPs is indispensable in assessing the health risks and exposure limits because of their industrial disposal into the aquatic environment. We assessed and compared the developmental toxicity of Al2O3 NPs in Xenopus laevis and Danio rerio over a period of 96 h using the frog embryo teratogenic assay Xenopus and a fish embryo toxicity assay. Engineered Al2O3 NP exposure produced dose‐dependent embryonic mortality and decreased the embryo length, indicating a negative effect on growth. Moreover, Al2O3 NPs induced various malformations, such as small head size, a bent/deformed axis, edema, and gut malformation, dose‐dependently and altered the expression of heart‐ and liver‐specific genes in both X. laevis and D. rerio, as revealed by whole‐mount in‐situ hybridization and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. In conclusion, the toxicological data suggest that Al2O3 NPs are developmentally toxic and teratogenic and negatively affect the embryonic development of X. laevis and D. rerio. Our study can serve as a model for the toxicological evaluation of nanomaterial exposure on vertebrate development that is critical to ensure human and environmental safety. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:2672–2681. © 2019 SETAC

Identifying diverse metal oxide nanomaterials with lethal effects on embryonic zebrafish using machine learning

“…In spite of concerns around safety [ 7 – 9 ] and other challenges [ 10 ], there remains interest in developing novel metal oxide nanomaterials for various biomedical applications [ 10 – 12 ], as well as applications in other areas, such as in agriculture [ 13 ]. Nonetheless, the possibility that novel metal oxide ENMs developed for applications, such as biomedical applications, could be harmful to human health [ 8 – 9 ], means that there is a real need for developers of novel metal oxide ENMs and ENM-enabled products to introduce safety-by-design approaches.…”

“…In spite of concerns around safety [ 7 – 9 ] and other challenges [ 10 ], there remains interest in developing novel metal oxide nanomaterials for various biomedical applications [ 10 – 12 ], as well as applications in other areas, such as in agriculture [ 13 ]. Nonetheless, the possibility that novel metal oxide ENMs developed for applications, such as biomedical applications, could be harmful to human health [ 8 – 9 ], means that there is a real need for developers of novel metal oxide ENMs and ENM-enabled products to introduce safety-by-design approaches. Due to the opportunity to reduce experimental costs and/or development timeframes and/or late-stage attrition, as well as the ethical, societal and regulatory [ 14 – 17 ] pressures towards reduced animal testing, there is considerable value in developing computational models that could reliably predict the toxic hazard of novel metal oxide ENMs, prior to experimental testing and, ideally, prior to synthesis, based upon synthesis-controlled, intrinsic characteristics of the ENMs.…”