Does natural organic matter increase the bioavailability of cerium dioxide nanoparticles to fish?

Abstract

Environmental context Nanoparticles are present in growing volumes of consumer products and are suspected to be released into the environment at detectable levels. We focus on cerium dioxide nanoparticles and investigate their availability to fish from the water column, where we found increasing concentrations of natural organic material increased the ceria measured in the fish gills. This complex interaction between nanoparticle behaviour and uptake from environmentally relevant test systems is significantly understudied. Abstract Natural organic colloids affect the fate and behaviour of nanoparticles in the aquatic environment but how these interactions affect the bioavailability of nanoparticles to organisms is a major knowledge gap in risk-assessment analysis. Here, we investigated interactions of citrate-coated cerium dioxide (CeO2) nanoparticles with fulvic acids, representing natural organic matter, and assessed their bioavailability to fish (common carp, Cyprinus carpio) exposed chronically (32days) via the water. We show a fulvic acid concentration-related enhancement in the uptake of cerium (Ce) into gill tissues, with some evidence for an enhanced Ce uptake also into kidney and brain tissues in the presence of fulvic acids, but with more variable responses. We present evidence for differences in the aggregation behaviour for CeO2 nanoparticles in the different exposure scenarios, with reduced CeO2 particle aggregate size with citrate coating and fulvic acids, as determined from dynamic light scattering. We highlight that multiple analytical approaches are essential for understanding the dynamic nature of the particles and also that interpretations on measured particle sizes and characteristics may differ depending on the technique(s) employed. We conclude that conditions in natural waters are likely to play a fundamental role in affecting bioavailability and thus potential biological effects of CeO2 particles.