Vanessa Vargas, “Analysis of The Impact of 3D Printed Plastics from Different Resin Types on Teratology and Neurobehavior of Zebrafish”
Mentor: Michael Carvan, Freshwater Sciences, Freshwater Sciences (School of)
Poster #124
Understanding the impacts of toxicants present in the environment is critical to identifying the ways that human health is affected. Zebrafish serve as a suitable experimental organism for studying toxicology because they share 84% of disease genes with humans and have genetically accessible embryos. This project is focused on understanding however posture to 3D printed plastics, which are becoming ubiquitous in everyday life, affect neurobehavior and development in zebrafish throughput the entire life cycle. Preliminary studies are designed to evaluate overt toxicity in zebrafish embryos so we can eliminate those from further studies. Six-well plates, identical to ½ of a 12-well plate, were 3D printed using different SLA plastic resins. Three of the six wells were coated with an FDA-approved epoxy to test the utility of the coating in eliminating toxicity. Ten newly-fertilized eggs are placed in each well for analysis in triplicate. Controls from the same clutch are raised in standard 12-well untreated tissue culture plates. Microscopic observation determined mortality at 24 hours post-fertilization (hpf) when most anatomical systems are differentiated. At 5 days post-fertilization (dpf) the eleutheroembryos resemble mini-adults both structurally and behaviorally. Microscopic observations are used to identify structural abnormalities in most organ systems. Behavioral observations via digital video analysis using Noldus Ethivision are used to assess neurobehavioral development at 7, 14, 21, 40 dpf (continuing into old age) for deficits in locomotion, anxiety, and socialization. We anticipate that some resins will be overtly toxic and, therefore, won’t be used beyond 7-14 dpf. The results of this study may have implications for the use of 3D printed components of toys, medical or dental devices, and other objects likely to become part of our environment. This design can also be used to investigate the mechanism by which these behavioral deficits might persist throughout the lifespan, including epigenetic modifications.