Chandrasekaran Sneka, Dyah Ika Krisnawati, Muhamad Khafid, Hendra Susanto, Chinmaya Mutalik, Chih-Yu Chen, Tsung-Rong Kuo
Aim: Nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly released into the environment, posing risks to living organisms. While copper sulfide NPs have been extensively studied, the toxicity of copper sulfide (CuS) NPs remains underexplored. Owing to their widespread use, it is crucial to assess their biological effects. Materials & methods: In this study, we used zebrafish embryos and larvae to evaluate CuS NP toxicity. Embryos were exposed to 20–100 µg/mL of CuS NPs under both dark and light conditions. Results: Concentrations ≥60 µg/mL caused up to 85% mortality, along with developmental abnormalities such as bent tails and pericardial edema. Under light irradiation, CuS NPs significantly elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. This was evidenced by upregulated expression of antioxidant genes sod1, sod2, cat, and gpx1 in exposed embryos. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate a photoreactive toxicity mechanism: CuS NPs generate ROS under light, disrupting redox balance. This underscores the importance of environmental factors, like sunlight, in nanomaterial risk assessment. By revealing how CuS NPs affect aquatic organisms under realistic conditions, our study contributes to understanding the ecological risks these particles pose and highlights their potential implications for human health. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
International Ph.D. Program in Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Minwifery, Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia; Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; Graduate Institute of Nanomedicine and Medical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei, Taiwan; Center for Airborne Infection & Transmission Science, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States; Department of Orthopedics, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei, Taiwan; School of Biomedical Engineering, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei, Taiwan
