Dietary Exposure to Nanoparticles in Fish: A Pilot Study.

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Nanoparticles are very small particles in the size range 1-100 nanometers. Nanoparticles have numerous applications in new materials, electrical and thermal devices, and new applications in medical instruments, biorobotics, and environmental monitoring technology. The potential benefits to mankind of nanotechnology is awesome. However mammalian toxicity, and some recent work on fish in our laboratory, have rasied concerns about adverse effects of some of these materials. These concerns include exposure and uptake of nanoparticles via the gut, but little is known about the effects of nanoparticles on wildlife or the risks of dietary toxicity (food chain effects) in particular. Our proposal is a one year pilot study to look at the possible dietary toxicity of nanoparticles on fish. Our objectives are to measure the responses of the fish to a 4-week dietary exposure to two major types of nanoparticles (i) carbon nanotubes (ii) manufactured titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Measurements will include histopathology, a range of health indices, and detailed toxicological and biochemical investigations of the fish tissues, and especially gut function. This information is vital for environmental risk assessments, and a pre-requisite to managing potential pollution problems from new nanotechnologies.