Ecotoxicity of selected nano‐materials to aquatic organisms

Abstract

Present knowledge concerning the ecotoxic effects of nano-materials is very limited and merits to be documented more fully. For this purpose, we appraised the toxicity of nine metallic nano-powders (copper zinc iron oxide, nickel zinc iron oxide, yttrium iron oxide, titanium dioxide, strontium ferrite, indium tin oxide, samarium oxide, erbium oxide, and holmium oxide) and of two organic nano- powders (fullerene-C60 and single-walled carbon nanotube or SWCNT). After a simple process where nano-powders (NPs) were prepared in aqueous solution and filtered, they were then bioassayed across several taxonomic groups including decomposers (bacteria), primary producers (micro-algae), as well as primary and secondary consumers (micro-invertebrates and fish). Toxicity data generated on the 11 NPs reflected a wide spectrum of sensitivity that was biological level-, test-, and endpoint-specific. With all acute and chronic tests confounded for these 11 NPs, toxicity responses spanned over three orders of magnitude: >463 mg/L (24 h LC50 of the invertebrate Thamnoplatyurus platyurus for fullerene-C60) / 0.3 mg/L (96 h EC50 of the invertebrate Hydra attenuata for indium tin oxide), that is a ratio of 1543. On the basis of the MARA (Microbial Array for Risk Assessment) assay toxic fingerprint concept, it is intimated that NPs may have different modes of toxic action. When mixed in a 1:1 ratio with a certified reference material (CRM) sediment, two solid phase assays and an elutriate assay, respectively, showed that five NPs (copper zinc iron oxide, samarium oxide, erbium oxide, holmium oxide, and SWCNT) were able to increase both CRM sediment toxicity and its elutriate toxicity. This initial investigation suggests that chemicals emerging from nanotechnology may pose a risk to aquatic life in water column and sediment compartments and that further studies on their adverse effects are to be encouraged.

The potential health risk of titania nanoparticles

“…TNP toxicity has been observed in diverse models, such as rodents [15][16][17][18], aquatic organisms [19][20][21], and human cells [22][23][24]. Female workers were reported to experience shortness of breath and pleural effusions after 5-13 months of exposure in a polyacrylic ester nanoparticle processing factory [25], raising significant doubt about the human safety of TNPs.…”

Aquatic ecotoxicology: what has been accomplished and what lies ahead? An Eastern Canada historical perspective

“…Toxicity data generated on the 11 NPs reflected a wide spectrum of sensitivity that was biological level-, test-and endpoint-specific, with the most sensitive bioassay responses placing them in hazardous classes lying between 0.1 to 100 mg/L. 59 In another study, we conducted testing with the microbial array for risk assessment (MARA) assay, an 11 microbial species 96-well microplate toxicity test measuring growth inhibition, to determine the toxic potential of four metallic nano-powders (MNPs), copper zinc iron oxide, samarium (III) oxide, erbium (III) oxide and holmium (III) oxide). Toxicity testing was also undertaken after the four nano-powdwers were spiked into natural StLawrence River freshwater sediments displaying low, medium and high fines contents.…”

Potential Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Nanomaterials Used in the Construction Industry

“…Copper or copper oxide nanoparticles exert strong oxidative stress and DNA damage in human, mice, algae, and bacterial cells [4,11,34,45]. [38,57] Human cells…”

“…Toxicity from metal release, particle uptake, oxidative damage to DNA [9,25,69,74] Mice Accumulation of metals in kidneys [49,81] Rat Cytotoxic due to oxidative damage to multiple organelles [15,51] nCu or nCuO Mice Acute toxicity to liver, kidney, and spleen [4,11] TiO 2 Bacteria, algae, microcrustaceans, fish Acute lethality, growth inhibition, suppression of photosynthetic activity, oxidative damage due to ROS. [4,50,53,67,84] Ultra-fine SiO 2 nanoparticles have been classified as human carcinogens [27].…”

“…[4,50,53,67,84] Ultra-fine SiO 2 nanoparticles have been classified as human carcinogens [27]. Exposure to nano-sized SiO 2 causes alveolar cell toxicity and induces tumor necrosis genes in rats [3].…”