WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • SEP TEMBER 2022 65 ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 6 6 ) immune response in carp and the brown-marbled grouper (Yeh et al. 2008) and also increased the defence of turbot against Vibrio anguillarum (Skjermo and Bergh 2004). Chitosan (CS) nanoparticles are obtained from the shell wall of crustaceans. Chitosan is suitable for drug delivery because of its unique biological nature, being bioadhesive, biodegradable, biocompatible and nontoxic and that is easily excreted through the kidney. Mucoadhesive property of the same can be adapted for slow and sustainable drug release. Chitosan is used as a drug carrier for different kinds of DNA, vaccines and genes in fish through different routes of administration and is also used in bionanosensors and edible coatings (Meshkini et al. 2012). PLGA is a biodegradable polymer, extensively used for encapsulation and delivery of different compounds in fish. PLGA is used for the delivery of Aeromonas hydrophila antigen in rohu, producing a significant immune-stimulatory and antibody responses (Behera et al. 2010). Liposomes are composed of phospholipids. In Cyprinus carpio, liposome-encapsulated Aeromonas salmonicida antigen resulted in improved survival rate (83 percent) and skin ulcers (Irie et al. 2005). Gene delivery is the introduction of a foreign gene into the host cell. Success of the process is dependent on the delivery system. ADNA-chitosan complex is an efficient gene delivery system via receptor-mediated endocytosis. The DNA can be easily delivered into shrimp by feeding with chitosan tri-polyphosphate (CS/TPP) nanoparticles. CS/TPP nanoparticles were used to deliver plasmid-VAOMP (Vibrio anguillarum Outer Membrane Protein) orally in sea bass, resulted in expression of the OMP gene of V. anguillarum in gill, heart, muscle, liver and intestine of fish (Vimal et al. 2012). Nanotechnology is the study, design, creation and manipulation of matter at nanometer scale – in other words, at the atomic and molecular levels – and the exploitation of its properties. Richard Feynman, the father of nanotechnology, in his 1960 paper in Engineering and Science “There is plenty of room at the bottom”, described how to control and manipulate individual atoms and molecules. This paved the way for nanotechnology and now nanotechnology is widely applied in different fields of science and technology. Applications in Aquaculture The spike in world population is demanding ample protein to ensure food security. Fish is considered as a functional food and as an inexpensive and high-quality source of animal protein. Global aquaculture production has increased tremendously over the last two decades to meet market demand. However, there is a further requirement of technological innovations and interventions in aquaculture to ensure sustainable production. Nanotechnological advancements can be applied to make improvements in many areas of aquaculture, such as gene and drug delivery, disease diagnosis and management, nutrition and water quality management (Fig. 1) Drug andGeneDelivery. The conventional method of drug delivery to fish is via oral administration or through injection using the adjuvants like oil and water. This can cause adverse effects on fishes and may lead to mortality. Nanoparticles can overcome such issues because of their small sizes and they can cross biological barriers like the blood-brain barrier. Commonly used nanoparticle (NP) delivery systems are alginate, chitosan, poly d, l-lactic-coglycolic acid (PLGA) and liposome. Alginate particles are obtained from algin extracted from the cell wall of bacteria and seaweeds by emulsification. Many researchers have used alginate as an antigen adjuvant. Dietary administration of alginate particle-enhanced Small is Great: The Scope of Nanotechnology in Aquaculture S. Sreelekshmy, P. Aparna Ramanan, V.J Rejish Kumar FIGURE 1. Applications of nanotechnology in aquaculture. Nanotechnology is the study, design, creation and manipulation of matter at nanometer scale – in other words, at the atomic and molecular levels – and the exploitation of its properties. Richard Feynman, the father of nanotechnology, in his 1960 paper in Engineering and Science “There is plenty of room at the bottom”, described how to control and manipulate individual atoms and molecules. This paved the way for nanotechnology and now nanotechnology is widely applied in different fields of science and technology.
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