Oil spill accidents are a major concern for aquatic organisms. In recent history, the Deepwater Horizon blowout spilled 500 million liters of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Corexit 9500A was used to disperse the oil since it was the method approved at that time, despite safety concerns about its use. A better solution is necessary for dispersing oil from spills that reduces the toxicity to exposed aquatic organisms. To address this challenge, novel engineered nanoparticles were designed using silica cores grafted with hyperbranched poly(glycidol) branches. Because the silica core and polymers are known to be biocompatible, we hypothesized that these particles are nontoxic to fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and would decrease their exposure to oil polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Fathead minnow embryos, juveniles and adult stages were exposed to the particles alone or in combination with a water-accommodated fraction of oil. Acute toxicity of nanoparticles to fish was tested by measuring mortality. Sub-lethal effects were also measured including gene expression of cytochrome P450 1a (cyp1a) mRNA and heart rate in embryos. In addition, a mixture of particles plus the water-accommodated fraction was directly introduced to adult female fathead minnows by gavage. Three different nanoparticle concentrations were used (2, 10, and 50 mg/L) in either artificial fresh water or the water-accommodated fraction of the oil. In addition, nanoparticle-free controls were carried out in the two solutions. No significant mortality was observed for any age group or nanoparticle concentration, suggesting the safety of the nanoparticles. In the presence of the water-accommodated fraction alone, juvenile and adult fathead minnows responded by increasing expression of cyp1a. The addition of nanoparticles to the water-accommodated fraction reduced cyp1a gene expression in treatments. Heart rate was also restored to normal parameters in embryos co-exposed to nanoparticles and to the water-accommodated fraction. Measurement of polyaromatic hydrocarbons confirmed their presence in the tested solutions and the reduction of available PAH in WAF treated with the nanoparticles. Our findings suggest the engineered nanoparticles may be protecting the fish by sequestering polyaromatic hydrocarbons from oil, measured indirectly by the induction of cypa1 mRNAs. Furthermore, chemical analysis showed a reduction in PAH content in the water accommodated fraction with the presence of nanoparticles.

漏油事故是水生生物的主要关切。在最近的历史中，“深水地平线”井喷向墨西哥湾泄漏了5亿升原油。尽管使用Corexit 9500A是当时认可的方法，但仍使用它来分散油，尽管对其使用存在安全担忧。需要一种更好的解决方案来分散溢出物中的油，以减少对裸露的水生生物的毒性。为了解决这一挑战，使用接枝了超支化聚缩水甘油支链的二氧化硅核设计了新型工程纳米粒子。因为已知二氧化硅核和聚合物具有生物相容性，所以我们假设这些颗粒对黑头fat无毒（Pimephales promelas），并减少它们与油类多芳烃的接触。head黑的now鱼胚胎，少年和成年阶段单独暴露于颗粒，或与水混溶的油一起暴露于颗粒。通过测量死亡率测试了纳米颗粒对鱼类的急性毒性。还测量了亚致死作用，包括细胞色素P450 1a（cyp1a）mRNA的基因表达和胚胎的心率。另外，通过强饲法，将颗粒与含水部分的混合物直接引入成年雌性黑头min鱼。在人造淡水或油的水可溶部分中使用了三种不同的纳米颗粒浓度（2、10和50 mg / L）。另外，在两种溶液中进行了无纳米颗粒的对照。对于任何年龄组或纳米粒子浓度，均未观察到明显的死亡率，表明纳米粒子的安全性。在单独存在水的馏分存在下，幼年和成年的黑头min鱼通过增加cyp1a的表达来应对。将纳米颗粒添加到水可溶部分中可降低cyp1a基因表达在治疗中。在同时暴露于纳米颗粒和水可吸收部分的胚胎中，心率也恢复到正常参数。聚芳烃的测量证实了它们在测试溶液中的存在以及用纳米颗粒处理的WAF中可用PAH的减少。我们的发现表明，经过工程改造的纳米颗粒可能通过从油中隔离多环芳烃来保护鱼类，这是通过cypa1 mRNA的诱导间接测量的。此外，化学分析显示在存在纳米颗粒的情况下，水容纳部分中PAH含量降低。