ABSTRACT
Engineered nanomaterials are increasingly being developed for and incorporated into a myriad of commercial, consumer, and industrial applications due to their unique and tailorable properties. Widespread production and expanding use of nanomaterials imply that they will enter aquatic environments through accidental (e.g., down-the-drain disposal of nanomaterial-containing consumer products) or intentional (e.g., controlled release of nanoformulations for groundwater remediation efforts) anthropogenic release and thus have the potential to interact with and adversely affect freshwater organisms (e.g., fish). Here, we highlight some of the key aspects of nanotoxicological evaluation in freshwater organisms including factors that modulate the transport, transformation, fate, and toxicity of nanomaterials in the environment and their ensuing interactions with biological systems. Moreover, we present our recommendations for future nanotoxicity assessments and discuss some of the method- and regulatory-related challenges facing nanotoxicologists, risk assessors, and regulators that seek to minimize and predict the potential risk associated with nanomaterials when they are inadvertently or intentionally released into the environment. Then, we provide an exclusive toxicological assessment of several carbon-based and metal oxide nanomaterials and describe some commonly used aquatic animal model systems. Finally, we discuss our outlook toward the exciting and ever-growing field of nanotoxicology.
