posted on 2024-01-16, 14:03authored byShaily Chauhan, Seekha Naik, Rohit Kumar, Janne Ruokolainen, Kavindra Kumar Kesari, Monalisa Mishra, Piyush Kumar Gupta
Recently, the use of hybrid nanomaterials (NMs)/nanocomposites
has widely increased for the health, energy, and environment sectors
due to their improved physicochemical properties and reduced aggregation
behavior. However, prior to their use in such sectors, it is mandatory
to study their toxicological behavior in detail. In the present study,
a ZnFe2O4@poly(tBGE-alt-PA) nanocomposite is tested to study its toxicological
effects on a fruit fly model. This nanocomposite was synthesized earlier
by our group and physicochemically characterized using different techniques.
In this study, various neurological, developmental, genotoxic, and
morphological tests were carried out to investigate the toxic effects
of nanocomposite on Drosophila melanogaster. As a result, an abnormal crawling speed of third instar larvae
and a change in the climbing behavior of treated flies were observed,
suggesting a neurological disorder in the fruit flies. DAPI and DCFH-DA
dyes analyzed the abnormalities in the larva’s gut of fruit flies. Furthermore, the deformities were also seen
in the wings and eyes of the treated flies. These obtained results
suggested that the ZnFe2O4@poly(tBGE-alt-PA) nanocomposite is toxic to fruit flies.
Moreover, this is essential to analyze the toxicity of this hybrid
NM again in a rodent model in the future.