Acute toxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles from satureja hortensis on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Abstract

Nanoparticles are commonly synthesized chemically and because of their risk for living organisms and environment, safer synthesis methods are highly considered. This work was carried out to evaluate the acute toxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized from Satureja hortensis on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by static bioassay test. The average weight and length of trout fish used in the study were 20±3 g and 15±2 cm respectively. Three groups of the experimented fish were exposed to different concentrations (1, 10 and 100 mg/L) of ZnO nanoparticles. All the exposed fish were daily observed and dead fishes were immediately removed and recorded. The obtained data were statistically analyzed using probit regression method. The LC50 value at 96 h was found to be 25.50 mg/L for trout fish which makes this nanoparticle as a low toxicity substance in terms of toxicity classification. According to the results lifetime reduced with increasing the concentration of ZnO. Based on the obtained LC50 for the synthesized ZnO from Satureja plant in this study and comparison with that of the chemically fabricated in others work, it was revealed that the green nanoparticles synthesis is much less hazardous and a good alternative technique.