Evaluation of DNA damage and lipoperoxidation content in red earthworm, Lumbricus rubellus exposed to zinc oxide nanoparticles

Manufactured nanoparticles have a wide range of application due to their advantageous properties whencompared with their bulk forms. There is a growing concern regarding the safety of nanoparticles. This studyaimed to evaluate the cell membrane lipoperoxidation (LPO) and DNA integrity in red earthworm Lumbricusrubellus when exposed to artificial soil systems containing different concentration of zinc oxide nanoparticles(n-ZnO).Exposure to n-ZnO led to an increase in LPO content and DNA damage (in terms of halos) in earthwormcoelomocytes. We identified a positive strong correlation (r = +0.891, p