volume | PIER Journals

Abstract

We report, for the first time, a study on the biocompatibility of the poly(ethylene glycol)-thiol (PEG)-coated Au/Ag alloyed nanobox (PC-ANB) particles in zebrafish. We measured the mortality rate and the hatch rate of the zebrafish embryos injected with the PC-ANB particles and observed the distribution of the PC-ANB particles in the zebrafish embryos at different stages of growth development. The results show that the PC-ANB particles have negligible toxicity to the zebrafish embryos even at extra-high concentration (1.2 mg ml^-1), while uncoated Ag nanoparticles, used in the form of nanospheres or nanoplates, were found to cause embryo deformation or even death. Additionally, we have investigated the distribution of the PC-ANB particles within the zebrafish in the interest of studying their behavior in the zebrafish using imaging. For this, we used the three-photon luminescence imaging technique and it has been found that the PC-ANB particles mainly assemble in the backside muscle tissues of the zebrafish, suggesting that the PC-ANB particles are mostly metabolized out after about 96 hours of growth development.

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Dr. Kanghui Li

Dr. Xinyuan Zhao

Dr. Yixing Zhai

Dr. Guangdi Chen

Dr. El-Hang Lee

Prof. Sailing He