Abstract
Decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), a novel brominated flame retardant, may co-exist with other pollutants including nanoparticles (NPs) in aquatic environment. Due to structural similarity with decabromodiphenyl ether, DBDPE has been reported to exhibit thyroid disrupting effects and neurotoxicity. This study further evaluated the behavior of DBDPE in aqueous environments along with the bioavailability and toxicity of DBDPE in aquatic organisms in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles (n-TiO2). When co-existing in an aqueous environment, DBDPE was adsorbed by n-TiO2, potentially facilitating the sedimentation of DBDPE from the aqueous phase. Co-exposure to DBDPE and n-TiO2 significantly increased the uptake of DBDPE by zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos and altered the composition of metabolites in zebrafish larvae compared to zebrafish exposed to DBDPE alone. The DBDPE-induced increases in heart rate, tail bending frequency, average speed under dark/light stimulation, and thyroid hormone levels in zebrafish embryos/larvae were further enhanced in the presence of n-TiO2. Overall, the results demonstrate that n-TiO2 affected the behavior of DBDPE in the aqueous phase and increased the bioavailability and biotoxicity of DBDPE in zebrafish embryos/larvae. These results could be helpful for understanding the environmental behavior and toxicity of DBDPE.
Highlights
As an alternative to decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) has been extensively used in consumer products such as plastics, foams, textiles, furniture, and electronic devices (Covaci et al, 2011; Shi Z. et al, 2018)
The accumulation of DBDPE was detected in zebrafish larvae exposed to 10 or 100 μg/L DBDPE with or without n-TiO2, and the DBDPE concentration in the group exposed to 100 μg/L DBDPE + n-TiO2 was significantly higher than that in the group exposed to only DBDPE at 100 μg/L (&&&p < 0.001; Figure 2B)
Based on the increases in nanoparticle size and zeta potential of n-TiO2 with increasing DBDPE concentration, DBDPE can be adsorbed by n-TiO2, which may lead to its sedimentation from the aqueous phase
Summary
As an alternative to decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) has been extensively used in consumer products such as plastics, foams, textiles, furniture, and electronic devices (Covaci et al, 2011; Shi Z. et al, 2018). DBDPE has been detected in various biological and abiotic media such as air, indoor dust, surface. Previous studies have detected DBDPE at concentrations of up to 107 ng/L in surface water of the Xiaoqing River Basin (Zhen et al, 2018) and even 990 ng/L in Sewage from Sewage Outlet in Dongjiang River (Zeng et al, 2011) and 1700 ± 744 ng/g lipid weight in crucian carp (Carassius auratus) from an e-waste recycling site in South China (Tao et al, 2019). Environmental monitoring in the Bohai Sea revealed that the ratio of DBDPE to BDE-209 exceeded two in the aqueous phase and four in air (Liu et al, 2020). DBDPE may have higher bioavailability in some organisms and persist longer in the environment compared to BDE-209 (Wu et al, 2020a; Liu et al, 2020). It is important to evaluate the potential ecological and health risks of DBDPE based on an in-depth understanding of its environmental behavior, bioavailability, and biotoxicity
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