Inactivation of mammalian spermatozoa on the exposure of TiO2 nanorods deposited with noble metals

• Published in: Journal of analytical science and technology Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 7
• Main Authors: Yi, Young-Joo, Dhandole, Love Kumar, Seo, Dong-Won, Lee, Sang-Myeong, Jang, Jum Suk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Nature Singapore 26.01.2023; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Charge transfer; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Embryo development; Embryogenesis; Embryonic growth stage; Fecundity; In vitro fertilization; Inactivation; Metals; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; NADPH; Nanorods; Noble metals; Reactive oxygen species; Research Article; Silver; Sperm; Spermatozoa; TiO2 nanorods; Titanium; Titanium dioxide; In vitro fertilization; NADPH; Spermatozoa; nanorods; Au; Ag; TiO; Noble metals; Embryo development
• ISSN: 2093-3371; 2093-3134; 2093-3371
• DOI: 10.1186/s40543-022-00366-x

Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanorods (NRs) are well-known semiconducting and catalytic material that has been widely applied, but their toxicities have also attracted recent interest. In this study, we investigated and compared the toxic effects of TiO 2 NRs and TiO 2 NRs loaded with Ag or Au NPs on boar spermatozoa. As a result, sperm incubated with Ag-TiO 2 NRs showed lower motility than sperm incubated with controls (with or without TiO 2 NRs) or Au-TiO 2 NRs. In addition, sperm viability and acrosomal integrity were defective in the presence of Ag-TiO 2 NRs, and the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased significantly when spermatozoa were incubated with 20 μg/ml Ag-TiO 2 NRs. We discussed in depth the charge transfer mechanism between enzymatic NADPH and Ag-TiO 2 NRs in the context of ROS generation in spermatozoa. The effects we observed reflected the fertilization competence of sperm incubated with Ag-TiO 2 NRs; specifically sperm penetration and embryonic development rates by in vitro fertilization were reduced by Ag-TiO 2 NRs. To summarize, our findings indicate that exposure to Ag-TiO 2 NRs could affect male fertilization fecundity and caution that care be exercised when using these NRs.