Ecotoxicological effects of graphene-based materials

Abstract

Graphene-based materials (GBMs) are currently under careful examination due to their potential impact on health and environment. Over the last few years, ecotoxicology has started to analyze all the potential issues related to GBMs and their possible consequences on living organisms. These topics are critically considered in this comprehensive review along with some considerations about future perspectives. RECEIVED

Dispersible MoS2 micro-sheets induced a proinflammatory response and apoptosis in the gills and liver of adult zebrafish

“…3,12,13 In fact, MoS 2 and other engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are able to enter rivers or lakes and thus, evaluating the aquatic toxicity of these materials is essential.…”

Graphene oxide impairs the pollen performance of Nicotiana tabacum and Corylus avellana suggesting potential negative effects on the sexual reproduction of seed plants

“…The fact that GO had an effect on the pollen performance of both species, although with a different intensity, agrees well with the literature reporting the toxic effects of GO on phylogenetically unrelated model organisms. 16 However, the mechanisms of toxicity are still unclear: some authors reported that GO can mechanically damage cells or tissues with its sharp edges 36 and reduce metabolic activity and viability when it is internalized into cells. 37,38 The great majority, though, agrees that GO causes oxidative stress inducing the formation of reactive oxygen species.…”

“…[12][13][14][15] In general, however, there is agreement on the greater toxicity of graphene oxide (GO) with respect to other GBMs. 16 This is likely due to the high number of oxygen functional groups, such as hydroxyl, carboxyl and epoxy, spread over the graphene lattice which render GO more hydrophilic and reactive towards the surrounding environment. 17 Expectedly, the effects of GBMs on seed plants were always evaluated on the vegetative body at different developmental stages, from seed germination to the flowering adult plants.…”

Graphene Oxide from Current Perspectives to Future Applications

“…In the field of environmental depollution, carbon based materials, mainly graphene and graphene oxide materials, followed a few distinct routes of development, which can be categorized as follows: depollution of drinking and industrial water through adsorption or photodegradation [31][32][33][34][35][36], the analysis of toxic substances in aqueous media through use of novel sensor materials [37][38][39], better methods for sample preparation involving the use of graphene oxide based materials [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] and last but not least the assessment of environmental fate and toxicity of these type of materials [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60].…”

“…Of course, the fight for environmental depollution cannot be complete and is useless if in the struggle to remove a toxic component from the environment we add another one which has the potential ICEPR 138-2 to be more toxic that the one we are aiming to remove. In this case, proper studies must be carried out to ensure, or at least assess the potential of new materials to cause an unwanted environmental impact [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60].…”