Sublethal toxicity of nano-titanium dioxide and carbon nanotubes in a sediment dwelling marine polychaete

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) Vol. 158; no. 5; pp. 1748 - 1755
• Main Authors: Galloway, Tamara, Lewis, Ceri, Dolciotti, Ida, Johnston, Blair D., Moger, Julian, Regoli, Francesco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Arenicola marina; Biological and medical sciences; Brackish; Coherent anti-stokes Raman microscopy; Crashworthiness; Ecotoxicology; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on protozoa and invertebrates; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollutants - toxicity; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genotoxicity; Geologic Sediments - analysis; Geologic Sediments - parasitology; Marine; Nanocomposites; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticle; Nanostructure; Nanotubes, Carbon - toxicity; Polychaeta - chemistry; Polychaeta - drug effects; Polychaeta - growth & development; Sediments; Single wall carbon nanotubes; Titanium - toxicity; Titanium dioxide; Toxicity; Arenicola marina; Ecotoxicology; Nanoparticle; Genotoxicity; Coherent anti-stokes Raman microscopy; Marine sediments; Polychaeta; Toxicity; Carbon; Annelida; Marine environment; Pollutant; Titanium; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2009.11.013

The ecotoxicology of manufactured nanoparticles (MNPs) in estuarine environments is not well understood. Here we explore the hypothesis that nanoTiO
2 and single walled nanotubes (SWNT) cause sublethal impacts to the infaunal species
Arenicola marina (lugworm) exposed through natural sediments. Using a 10 day OECD/ASTM 1990 acute toxicity test, no significant effects were seen for SWNT up to 0.03 g/kg and no uptake of SWNTs into tissues was observed. A significant decrease in casting rate (
P = 0.018), increase in cellular damage (
P = 0.04) and DNA damage in coelomocytes (
P = 0.008) was measured for nanoTiO
2, with a preliminary LOEC of 1 g/kg. Coherent anti-stokes Raman scattering microscopy (CARS) located aggregates of TiO
2 of >200 nm within the lumen of the gut and adhered to the outer epithelium of the worms, although no visible uptake of particles into tissues was detected.
This study explores the hypothesis that nano-TiO
2 and single walled nanotubes (SWNT) can cause sublethal impacts to
Arenicola marina exposed through natural sediments.