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Published on: July 4, 2021
Chitosan nanoparticles and their Tween 80 modified counterparts disrupt the developmental profile of zebrafish
Zhongyue Yuan1, Ying Li1, Yulan Hu1
1Institute of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China, PR China.
Abstract:
Chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) and their Tween 80 modified counterparts (TmCS-NPs) are among the most commonly used brain-targeted vehicles. However, their potential developmental toxicity is poorly understood. In this study, zebrafish embryos are introduced as an in vivo platform. Both NPs showed a dose-dependent increase in developmental toxicity (decreased hatching rate, increased mortality and incidences of malformation). Neurobehavioral changes included decreased spontaneous movement in TmCS-NP treated embryos and hyperactive effect in CS-NP treated larvae. Both NPs remarkably inhibited axonal development of primary and secondary motor neurons, and affected the muscle structure. Overall, this study demonstrated that CS-NPs and TmCS-NPs could affect embryonic development, disrupt neurobehavior of zebrafish larvae and affect muscle and neuron development, suggesting more attention on biodegradable chitosan nanoparticles.
