Impact of morphologically tuned silica nanoparticles on the invasive freshwater bivalve Limnoperna fortunei.

Silica nanoparticles (SiNP) have a high global production volume, but their toxicity is far from being completely understood. In this study, we synthesized SiNP with distinct morphological features: dense SiNP (dSiNP), conventional mesoporous SiNP (MSN), and two types of flower-like dendritic mesoporous SiNP with a stellate lamellar structure: one using ibuprofen (FLW-IBU) and one using sodium salicylate (FLW-NaSal) as auxiliary templates. To assess their toxicological impact, we conducted a 96-hour bioassay exposing the freshwater bivalve Limnoperna fortunei to 10 µg/mL of these varied SiNP. Exposure to dSiNP increased superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase enzyme activities in the soft tissue of bivalves. Lipid peroxidation levels also augmented following exposure to both dSiNP and MSN. We observed no significant alterations in tissular damage markers across treatments. Neither FLW-IBU nor FLW-NaSal induced any deleterious effect, indicating they are less detrimental to L. fortunei. These findings contribute to the safe-by-design development of nanomaterials.