Polyaniline nanofibers: Acute toxicity and teratogenic effects on Rhinella arenarum embryos

EDITH I. YSLAS ; LUIS E. IBARRA ; DAMIÁN O. PERALTA; CÉSAR A. BARBERO; VIVIANA A. RIVAROLA ; MABEL L. BERTUZZI

CHEMOSPHERE

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2012 vol. 87 p. 1374 - 1380

0045-6535

The fate and effect of nanomaterials in the environment is of paramount importance towards the technological application of the materials. This work shows the ecotoxicological potential of polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers in the larvae Rhinella arenarum by means of AMPHITOX test. Acute toxicity of PANI nanofibers towards embryos of the common South American toad Rhinella arenarum (Anura: bufonidae) was evaluated in the premetamorphosis (stage 25) larvae. The exposure of Rhinella arenarum larvae to at dose of 150, 250 and 400 mg/L resulted in 100% viability within 96 h exposure. The embryos at 2-4 blastomers stage (early life stage teratogenic test) revealed that embryos were not killed and no teratogenic effects were observed when embryos were incubated with PANI nanofibers (150 and 250 mg/L), while only a growth retardation of embryos was induced at levels of 250 mg PANI nanofibers /L. On the other hand, at 400 mg/L concentration, a reduction in the body length of larvae and tail malformation was observed. This results suggest that a concentration-dependent toxicity is operative, typified by phenotypes that had abnormal body axes. The presence of PANI nanofibers in gut contents and its excretion by larval stages of Rhinella arenarum was confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy.