Conclusion
In summary, the marked changes observed in C. elegans’ viability, growth, development and fertility; reinforce our previous results obtained in vitro(Iness R. Benmessaoud et al., 2016), and clearly demonstrate the toxic impact of the photovoltaic perovskites on the environment. Furthermore, the microfluidic device used in our study simplified the screening of worms and allowed for analyzing many parameters including development, lifespan and fertility in a single assay. The device is very useful in the field of toxicology when using C. elegans as a model, and could be employed in other disciplines such as neurodegeneration, immunology and pharmacology.
Acknowledgments
The work was performed in the frame of the ERC Advanced Grant “Picoprop”.