TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of soil porewater properties on the fate and toxicity of silver nanoparticles to Caenorhabditis elegans
AU - Schultz, Carolin L.
AU - Lahive, Elma
AU - Lawlor, Alan
AU - Crossley, Alison
AU - Puntes, Victor
AU - Unrine, Jason M.
AU - Svendsen, Claus
AU - Spurgeon, David J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 SETAC
PY - 2018/10
Y1 - 2018/10
N2 - Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) entering the environment are subject to various transformations that in turn influence how particles are presented to, and taken up by, organisms. To understand the effect of soil properties on the toxicity of nanosilver to Caenorhabditis elegans, toxicity assays were performed in porewater extracts from natural soils with varying organic matter content and pH using 3–8 nm unfunctionalized silver (Ag 3–8Unf), 52-nm polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-coated Ag NPs (Ag 52PVP), and AgNO 3 as ionic Ag. Effects on NP agglomeration and stability were investigated using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4); Ag + showed greater overall toxicity than nanosilver, with little difference between the NP types. Increasing soil organic matter content significantly decreased the toxicity of Ag 3–8Unf, whereas it increased that of AgNO 3 . The toxicity of all Ag treatments significantly decreased with increasing porewater pH. Dissolution of both NPs in the porewater extracts was too low to have contributed to their observed toxic effects. The UV-vis spectroscopy revealed low levels of agglomeration/aggregation independent of soil properties for Ag 3–8Unf, whereas higher organic matter as well as low pH appeared to stabilize Ag 52PVP. Overall, both soil organic matter content and pH affected NP fate as well as toxicity to C. elegans; however, there appears to be no clear connection between the measured particle characteristics and their effect. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2609–2618.
AB - Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) entering the environment are subject to various transformations that in turn influence how particles are presented to, and taken up by, organisms. To understand the effect of soil properties on the toxicity of nanosilver to Caenorhabditis elegans, toxicity assays were performed in porewater extracts from natural soils with varying organic matter content and pH using 3–8 nm unfunctionalized silver (Ag 3–8Unf), 52-nm polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-coated Ag NPs (Ag 52PVP), and AgNO 3 as ionic Ag. Effects on NP agglomeration and stability were investigated using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4); Ag + showed greater overall toxicity than nanosilver, with little difference between the NP types. Increasing soil organic matter content significantly decreased the toxicity of Ag 3–8Unf, whereas it increased that of AgNO 3 . The toxicity of all Ag treatments significantly decreased with increasing porewater pH. Dissolution of both NPs in the porewater extracts was too low to have contributed to their observed toxic effects. The UV-vis spectroscopy revealed low levels of agglomeration/aggregation independent of soil properties for Ag 3–8Unf, whereas higher organic matter as well as low pH appeared to stabilize Ag 52PVP. Overall, both soil organic matter content and pH affected NP fate as well as toxicity to C. elegans; however, there appears to be no clear connection between the measured particle characteristics and their effect. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2609–2618.
KW - Bioavailability
KW - Dissolved organic matter
KW - Nanotoxicology
KW - Silver
KW - pH
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U2 - 10.1002/etc.4220
DO - 10.1002/etc.4220
M3 - Article
C2 - 30003578
AN - SCOPUS:85053285396
SN - 0730-7268
VL - 37
SP - 2609
EP - 2618
JO - Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
JF - Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
IS - 10
ER -