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Toxicity and transcriptomic analysis in Hyalella azteca suggests increased exposure and susceptibility of epibenthic organisms to Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles.
Citation:
Poynton, H., Jim Lazorchak, C. Impellitteri, B. Blalock, M. Smith, K. Struewing, J. Unrine, AND D. Roose. Toxicity and transcriptomic analysis in Hyalella azteca suggests increased exposure and susceptibility of epibenthic organisms to Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 47(16):9453-9460, (2013).
Impact/Purpose:
This paper maybe the first to show the impact of nanoparticles on benthic invertebrates.
Description:
Nanoparticles (NPs) are expected to make their way into the aquatic environment where sedimentation of particles will likely occur, putting benthic organisms at particular risk. Therefore, organisms such as Hyalella azteca, an epibenthic crustacean which forages at the sediment surface, is likely to have a high potential exposure. Here we show that ZnO NPs are more toxic to H. azteca compared with the corresponding metal ion, Zn2+. Dissolution of ZnO NPs contributes about 50% of the Zn measured in the ZnO NP suspensions, and cannot account for the toxicity of these particles to H. azteca. However, gene expression analysis is unable to distinguish between the ZnO NP exposures and ZnSO4 exposures at equitoxic concentrations. This suggests that the NPs act as carrier for Zn2+, increasing the exposure level of Zn2+ to H. azteca, and possibly other sediment dwelling organisms. Our study supports the prediction that sediment dwelling organisms maybe more susceptible to the effects of ZnO NPs and should be considered in the risk assessment of these nanomaterials.
