Accumulation of zinc oxide nanoparticles and zinc sulphate in liver, kidney, gill and muscle tissues in Oreochromis niloticus

In this study, zinc accumulation in kidney, the liver, gill and muscle tissues of Oreochromis niloticus were investigated in both ZnO NP and ZnSO4. The fish were exposed to 0. 5, 2.5 and 5.0 mg/L ZnO NP and ZnSO4 for 3 and 15 days. Levels of zinc in various tissues was measured by Atomic Absorbtion Spectrophotmetric Methods. In this study, zinc accumulations in the tissues after to ZnO NP and ZnSO4 for 3 and 10 days increased with increasing concentrations of Zn and time in the medium. The highest accumulation occured in the kidney followed by gill, the liver and muscle. It was found that the zinc accumulation in the tissues of fish exposed to ZnO NPs in all tested conditions was lower than those of fish exposed to ZnSO4. It was determined that the zinc levels in the kidney tissue of fish exposed to ZnO NPs in both periods were lower than those of fish exposed to ZnSO4. It was determined that the zinc accumulation in the gill and muscle tissues of the fish exposed to ZnO NPs during the 3-day experiment was lower than that of fish exposed to ZnSO4