Genotoxicity Evaluation of Pectin-Mediated Gold Nanoparticles on Zebrafish Embryos (Danio rerio)

Pectin is a polymer commonly found in the fruit peels. Pectin-mediated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were fabricated and characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic analysis. The transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of polymorphic and polydisperse nanoparticles in the size range of 4–18 nm. Cytotoxicity studies using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiozol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide on Gambusia affinis skin cell line demonstrated that there is no significant toxicity at lower concentrations. Zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) embryos were used to study the effect and distribution of AuNPs in vivo and the toxicological parameters (mortality, heart beats per min and hatching rate) were recorded. A concentration-dependent rise in mortality was also observed in AuNPs-treated embryos. Furthermore, the acridine orange staining was used to assess the genotoxicity of pectin-mediated AuNPs on the zebrafish embryos. The results indicated that these particles did not express toxicity to the zebrafish embryonic development at lower concentrations.