Genotoxicity of Copper, Silver and Green Synthetic Gold Nanoparticles in fish (Ctenopharyngodon idella)

Abstract Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) was exposed to nanoparticles of different concentrations i.e. copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO-NPs), silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) and green synthetic gold nano particles (Au-NPs) each for a period of 14 and 28 days. The DNA damage in the erythrocytes of Grass carp were detected through comet assay technique. The values of Total Comet Score (TCS) were noted for the exposed concentrations with a significant increasing trend (p < 0.05) and ordered as CuO-NPs > Ag-NPs > Au-NPs. The highest TCS value of the exposed erythrocytes was recorded for CuO-NPs at 40 mg L− 1 after 14 days of exposition period. Comparatively, TCS values of erythrocytes exposed to green synthetic Au-NPs at all the concentrations and exposed time was less as compared to the Ag-NPs and CuO-NPs. The study confirmed the adverse effects of nanoparticles on the genetic material of fish cells.