Abstract
Neodymium (Nd) is one of the most famous members of rare earth elements family. With the increasing global demand for Nd, it can inevitably enter the environment and affect the ecological environment through the food chain and other ways. Therefore, it is very important to study the biological effects of Nd. In this study, the biological effects of 3 kinds of Nd compounds, i.e. neodymium oxide (Nd2O3), neodymium chloride (NdCl3) and neodymium nitrate (Nd(NO3)3), were evaluated by using silkworm models through the method of intravascular injection. Each of the three Nd compounds was prepared into 6 groups at different concentrations (40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 μg/μL). The results show that within the certain concentration range, Nd compounds show great damage to the growth of silkworms since high death rate is observed: the death rate from Nd2O3 group is floating between 30% and 80%, the one from NdCl3 group is between 17% and 33% and that from Nd(NO3)3 group is between 23% and 37%. It also reveals that Nd compounds have some negative effects on the body length and weight of silkworms. However, the histophysiological study shows that the three Nd compounds cause no obvious negative effects on the cell morphologies in midgut, fat body and silk gland. The XRD and FTIR spectra show that the secondary and the crystalline structures of silks are not destroyed, the TGA and DTG data exhibit that the thermal stability of silks is not damaged, and the tensile test shows that the mechanical properties of silks are not affected significantly by the intake of Nd compounds. In general, the intake of Nd compounds has significant inhibitory effects on silkworm growth but little negative impact on silk structures or cell morphology, the study can provide useful toxicological data for the safe application of Nd compounds in various fields.
Published Version
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