Ecotoxicity of selected carbon-based nanomaterials

Abstract

The widespread use of the nanomaterials increases the emission of nano-pollutants into the water. Carbon nanomaterials are particularly interesting. They are characterized by relatively stable structure, which makes them able to migrate and accumulate in the environment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the potential toxicity at the different trophic levels of four selected carbon nanostructures: graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) on indicators at three trophic levels. Producers was represented by Lemna minor in growth inhibition test. The ecotoxicological effect for consumers was estimated by acute tests on Artemia franciscana, Brachionus calyciflorus and Thamnocephalus platyurus, while the acute toxicity on decomposers was studied on bacteria Escherichia coli. Results show that the short-term exposure on MWCNTs, f-MWCNTs, GO and rGO can be toxic at three trophic levels. The influence of the tested materials was much higher for the consumers, than for the producers. The lowest toxicity from all researched carbon-based nanomaterials was presented by GO. Moreover, generation of high reactive form of oxygen, mechanical damage of cell wall and membrane is one of the main toxicity mechanism; thus, the toxicity depends heavily of the dose and the shape of the nanomaterials.

Sustainable synthesis: natural processes shaping the nanocircular economy

“…This ensures that materials used in products, processes, or waste streams do not pose significant risks to ecosystems or human health. 130,131 Recently, Zhang et al 129 have comprehensively reviewed the ecotoxicity of mixtures of NPs and hybrid nanomaterials. Accordingly, the mixtures' combined response is primarily influenced by several factors, including: (1) the chemical composition of individual components in the mixtures, (2) the stability of suspensions containing mixed engineered NPs, (3) the type and trophic level of the tested organisms, (4) the biological level of organization, including population, communities, and ecosystems, (5) the exposure concentrations and duration, (6) the toxicity endpoint, and (7) abiotic field conditions, such as pH, ionic strength, and natural organic matter.…”

Archives of Environmental Protection

“…Therefore, better removal of pollutants by the nanocomposite membranes was attributed to their lower porosity compared to pristine PES. Additionally, SWCNT-COOH and Hal are considered to be good sorbents [Gamoń et al 2022, Marszałek 2022], thus, their presence in PES-Hal and PES-SWCNT-COOH membranes enhanced the separation of organic pollutants via adsorption [Buruga et al 2019, Kamińska et al 2015.…”

Archives of Environmental Protection

“…Fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as norfloxacin, which remain in the natural environment, are difficult to transform and degrade by natural self-purification ability (Yang et al 2020). The ecotoxicity of antibiotics has also received extensive attention (Yang et al 2020, Gamoń et al 2022. Zhao et al (2016) reported that norfloxacin has high ecological risk.…”