Toxicity of Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

Overview

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles on the health of Dugesia tigrina. Due to the various novel applications of nanoparticles, their production and prevalence in consumer products has increased exponentially. While their entry into the environment is inevitable, little is known about the ecotoxicological effects of nanoparticles. The freshwater flatworm Dugesia tigrina was chosen as the model organism for this experiment due to its prevalence in regeneration and toxicology research. It was hypothesized that if Dugesia tigrina were exposed to ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles, then they would exhibit an increased mortality rate as well as a deterioration in health as seen by a decreased regeneration rate and abnormal behavioral patterns. An acute toxicity test was conducted with ZnO (18 nm) and TiO2 (18 nm) nanoparticles at concentrations of .01 mg/L, .1 mg/L. 1 mg/L, 10 mg/L, and 100 mg/L. To assess the chronic effects of nanoparticle exposure on growth and development, a regeneration study was conducted. Dugesia were exposed to sublethal concentrations of nanoparticles, and their regeneration rates were monitored. Overall, the results of this experiment supported the hypothesis; it was found that the 48 hour LC50s for nano-ZnO and nano-TiO2 were .41 mg/L and 8.05 mg/L, respectively. The results of the regeneration study followed a similar trend, with those exposed to nano-ZnO exhibiting the largest delay in regeneration time, with nano-TiO2 causing a similar effect. In addition, abnormal swimming patterns were observed in the organisms exposed to ZnO nanoparticles, an indication of neurotoxicity. Future studies will assess the effects of nanoparticle exposure on learning and memory of Dugesia tigrina.

Competition history

• AJAS 2018 Category not listed

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

• All Earth and Environmental Sciences projects
• AJAS Earth and Environmental Sciences projects
• Every AJAS 2018 project