Dietary toxicity of single-walled carbon nanotubes and fullerenes (C₆₀) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Abstract

The objective of this investigation was to compare the toxicity of two manufactured carbon nanomaterials (CNs) to determine if shape influenced toxicity. Juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were fed a control diet (no CN addition), or a diet supplemented with 500 mg single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) kg⁻¹ or 500 mg C₆₀ kg⁻¹ for six weeks. Fish growth, haematology, tissue ion concentrations, histopathology, osmoregulation, and biochemistry were evaluated. At week 4, but not on weeks 2 and 6, significant elevation in brain TBARS (an indication of lipid peroxidation) was observed in fish exposed to SWCNTs (16.2 ± 1.38 nmol mg⁻¹ protein) compared to the control (9.11 ± 0.81 nmol mg⁻¹ protein) and fish exposed to C₆₀ (8.28 ± 0.56 nmol mg⁻¹ protein). No other significant treatment-related differences were observed. Results indicate that dietary exposure to SWCNTs and C₆₀ in rainbow trout did not result in overt toxicity.

Keywords::

• Carbon nanotubes
• C₆₀ fullerenes
• nanoparticles
• dietary toxicity
• nanotoxicology
• Oncorhynchus mykiss

Acknowledgments

The authors thank A. Atfield, M. Hockings, B. Eynon, A. Fisher, L. Folland, and N. Sweet for technical assistance.

Declaration of interest: This project was funded by a grant given to R. Handy from the Natural Environment Research Council UK NE/E014348/1 and the C₆₀ component of the study was provided by a U.S. EPA Science to Achieve Results grant (R833333) awarded to T. Henry. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.