Genotoxic evaluation of anticorrosive compounds in Perna Perna mussels.

• Grant number: 25/00384-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 02, 2025
• End date: March 01, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biology
• Principal Investigator: Ana Carolina Feitosa Cruz
• Grantee: Flávia Apolinário Galera
• Supervisor: Roberto Carlos Domingues Martins
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade de Aveiro (UA), Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/06561-9 - Genotoxic evaluation of anticorrosive compounds in Perna Perna mussels, BP.IC

Abstract

Metal corrosion has been considered a major problem for the maritime industry. Some techniques can be applied to reduce metal corrosion, including the use of anticorrosive paints. However, the substances used as corrosion inhibitors (CI) in these paints can be released to the water column and cause toxicity to marine organisms, thus creating the need for environmentally friendly alternatives. These include organic CIs, such as sodium gluconate (SG) and sodium nitrite (NaNO2), which have good anticorrosive performance but can be toxic to aquatic organisms. The encapsulation of CIs in layered double hydroxides (LDH) immobilized in Zn-Al is a proposed strategy to reduce their impacts and ensure anticorrosive efficiency. This project aims to evaluate the genotoxic effects of soluble bio-based CIs (SG and NaNO2) and their respective nanostructured forms, immobilized in Zn-Al LDH, in mussels of the temperate species Mytilus galloprovincialis. The mussels will be exposed to different concentrations between 0.3 mg/L and 10 mg/L and the effects will be evaluated after 96 hours and 14 days. The hemolymph will be extracted, preserved in buffer (PBS), and used to perform the comet technique, which consists of lysing the cell membranes, followed by inducing the electrophoretic migration of the released DNA in an agarose matrix. The genetic material will be stained with ethidium bromide and observed under an epifluorescence microscope, where the DNA will be observed as images resembling comets. A total of 100 comets will be counted, each one being classified between 0 and 4, allowing the generation of a score. The mean values in each treatment will be compared by analysis of variance followed by multiple comparison.