A review of the performance of zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model organism in nanotoxicological research and its differences with other animal models

Today, nanotechnology is recognized as one of the leading sciences in the world, which manipulates atoms and molecules in order to produce valuable products. Extensive use of nanomaterials in various industrial sectors has increased the possibility of their diffusion in water bodies and the environment. Therefore, the study of toxicity of these substances is considered as one of the research necessities in toxicology. Maintaining human health has always been considered as one of the basic criteria in medical and toxicological research. Due to this issue, in order to investigate the direct effects of pollutants on the human body, human-like organisms are used as a laboratory model. In recent years, several studies have been conducted on the use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) to evaluate the toxicity of nanoparticles. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of this animal model in nanotoxicological studies. In this study, the advantages of zebrafish compared to other animal models such as laboratory mouse (Mus musculus), roundworm (Caenorhabditis elegans) and fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) were also investigated. Based on the literature review, due to its special biological characteristics such as proliferation, short reproduction time, easy breeding in the laboratory and also due to the high level of gene homology for human diseases, zebrafish (D. rerio) is an ideal option for studying the toxicity of nanomaterials.