The toxicity and oxidative stress of TiO2 nanoparticles in marine abalone (Haliotis diversicolor supertexta)

The increasing use of nanotechnology highlights the need to understand and clarify the environmental impacts of nanomaterials. In this study, the acute toxicity and oxidative stress of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO(2)) in mature marine abalone (Haliotis diversicolor supertexta) were assessed. No acute effect was found in any of the treatment groups with nTiO(2) concentration gradients ranging from 0.1 to 10 mg/L. However, the activity of an antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) significantly increased in the group that was exposed to 1.0 mg/L nTiO(2). The content of a non-enzymatic antioxidant, glutathione (GSH), significantly decreased in the groups with an nTiO(2) concentration 1.0 mg/L. The level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) was found to increase as the nTiO(2) dose increased. Furthermore, NO was produced in excess in abalone. These results demonstrated that, although nTiO(2) is not acutely toxic to abalone, it does exert oxidative stress on abalone. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.