Abstract
The toxic effects of individual and binary mixtures of five metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) were evaluated based on changes in two endpoints of algal growth: the cell count and chlorophyll content. Various effects were observed according to the concentration tested and type of NPs, and there were no significant differences in findings for the two endpoints. In general, ZnO NPs caused the greatest inhibition of algal growth, and Fe2O3 NPs the least. The EC50 for ZnO was 2.0 mg/L for the cell count and 2.6 mg/L for the chlorophyll content, and it was 76 and 90 mg/L, respectively, for Fe2O3. The EC50 values were in the order ZnO > NiO > CuO > TiO2 > Fe2O3. Subsequently, the effects of 30 binary mixture combinations on the chlorophyll content were evaluated. Comparisons were made between the observed and the expected toxicities calculated based on the individual NP toxicities. Overall, additive action (67%) was mainly observed, followed by antagonistic (16.5%) and synergistic (16.5%) actions. These results suggest that environmental exposure to NP mixtures may cause toxicity levels similar to the sum of those of the constituent NPs.
Highlights
Increasing numbers of commercial nanoparticle (NP) products are being applied in many fields, such as electronics, textiles, medical devices, cosmetics, wastewater technology, and environmental remediation [1]
Various concentration ranges of individual NP were chosen to examine the toxic effects of NPs on the activity of algal growth
The toxic effects on algal growth were examined by measuring the cell count and chlorophyll content
Summary
Increasing numbers of commercial nanoparticle (NP) products are being applied in many fields, such as electronics, textiles, medical devices, cosmetics, wastewater technology, and environmental remediation [1]. Accidental or intentional release into the environment has occurred with the increased production and use of NPs, and potential ecological effects of metal-based NPs have attracted considerable attention [6,7]. With the increasing release of NPs into the environment, it is essential to assess the toxicity of NPs using various test organisms [2,10]. To evaluate their environmental impact accurately, it is necessary to adopt appropriate organisms, endpoints, and methods for these assessments, as well as to understand the effects of NP mixtures. The widely used NPs TiO2 and Materials 2018, 11, 121; doi:10.3390/ma11010121 www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
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