accelerated their release in aquatic environment. As the AgNPs enters into the aquatic systems, their fate
may change due to interactions with abiotic (e.g. clay particles) or biotic factors. The abundantly present
clay particles are expected to more prone for interaction with nanoparticles in aquatic systems. In the
present study, it is demonstrated that AgNPs interacts with clay particles and forms heteroagglomerates.
Furthermore, an impact on toxicity potential of AgNPs after interactions with clay particles was assessed
by using zebrafish eleutheroembryos (72 h post hatching) as an in vivo model. The mortality rate of
zebrafish eleutheroembryos was higher in case of exposure to AgNPs-clay complexes (pH 4.0 and 7.0) as
compared to bare AgNPs. In addition, at earlier time points, the eleutheroembryos expressed higher
levels of morphological changes in tail, yolk and pericardia, but the edema in yolk sac was followed by
cell death. It can be concluded from the observations made in the present study that the inorganic
colloids in the aquatic matrices can alter the fate and toxicity potential of nanoparticles.