Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles Are Toxic for the Freshwater Mussel Unio ravoisieri: Evidence from a Multimarker Approach

The current work investigated the ecotoxicological effects induced by Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs), used at three different concentrations (C1 = 10 ?g·L?1, C2 100 ?g·L?1 and C3 1000 ?g·L?1) in a laboratory experiment, on freshwater mussel Unio ravoisieri. Biochemical analyses of gills digestive glands revealed stress-related disruption antioxidant system. catalase activity rates malonedialdehyde hydrogen peroxide production were significantly higher both organs following exposure to TiO2 NPs was concentration-dependent. In addition, based observed changes acetylcholinesterase activity, it can be concluded that disturbance threshold for cholinergic system less than 1 mg·L?1 TiO2. Overall, results suggest ravoisieri could as sentinel species monitoring surveys assessing environmental impact metallic systems.