Histopathological changes in the liver of killifish Aphanius dispar after short and long term exposure to colloidal silver nanoparticles

This study was conducted to investigate the toxicology effects of colloidal silver nanoparticles in the liver tissue of killifish Aphanius dispar during acute and chronic exposures. Acute toxicity test was conducted through 96 h exposure to concentrations of 0 (control), 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg/L and chronic toxicity test through 21 days exposure to concentrations of 0 (control), 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mg/L of silver nanoparticles. To evaluate the histopathological effects of colloidal silver nanoparticles in both exposures, fish liver tissue was examined. Fishes exposed to different concentrations of colloidal silver nanoparticles showed various degrees of tissue damages compared to the control treatment. In liver tissue, damages including hyperemia, hypertrophy, cells vacuolization, increased buildup of pigment cells and necrosis of liver cells were observed and as the concentrations of silver nanoparticles increased, these damages were also increased Since the silver nanoparticles cause damages to fish liver tissue, production and application of these nanomaterials and the release of wastewaters containing these particles to aquatic ecosystems must be under supervision and strict control.