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Updated: Sep 16, 2025
Toxicity Study of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles in Cell Culture and in Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: September 19, 2019
Unveiling the toxicological mechanisms and biological impacts of copper sulfide nanoparticles on zebrafish
Chandrasekaran Sneka1, Dyah Ika Krisnawati2, Muhamad Khafid2
1International Ph.D. Program in Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Aim:
Nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly released into the environment, posing risks to living organisms. While copper sulfide NPs have been extensively studied, the toxicity of copper sulfide (CuS) NPs remains underexplored. Owing to their widespread use, it is crucial to assess their biological effects.
Materials & Methods:
In this study, we used zebrafish embryos and larvae to evaluate CuS NP toxicity. Embryos were exposed to 20-100 µg/mL of CuS NPs under both dark and light conditions.
Results:
Concentrations ≥60 µg/mL caused up to 85% mortality, along with developmental abnormalities such as bent tails and pericardial edema. Under light irradiation, CuS NPs significantly elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. This was evidenced by upregulated expression of antioxidant genes sod1, sod2, cat, and gpx1 in exposed embryos.
Conclusions:
Our findings demonstrate a photoreactive toxicity mechanism: CuS NPs generate ROS under light, disrupting redox balance. This underscores the importance of environmental factors, like sunlight, in nanomaterial risk assessment. By revealing how CuS NPs affect aquatic organisms under realistic conditions, our study contributes to understanding the ecological risks these particles pose and highlights their potential implications for human health.
