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Release and toxicity comparison between industrial- and sunscreen-derived nano-ZnO particles
Citation:
Spisni, E., S. Seo, S. Joo, AND C. Su. Release and toxicity comparison between industrial- and sunscreen-derived nano-ZnO particles. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. Springer, Heidelburg, Germany, 13(10):2485-2494, (2016).
Impact/Purpose:
Submitted to International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
Description:
Many consumer products containing ZnO have raised concern for safety in regards toenvironmental impact and the public health. Widely used sunscreens for protectingagainst UV and avoiding sunburns represent a great exposure to nano-ZnO, one of theingredients commonly applied in sunscreens. Applying nano-products on beaches mayrelease nanoparticles unintentionally into the ocean. Despite the accumulation of suchnano-products in the ocean harming or being detrimental to critical marine organisms,few studies have investigated the release and potential toxicity of nanoparticlesextracted from products and compared them with those from industrial-typenanoparticles. Results show that the cytotoxicity of both industrial- and sunscreenderivednano-ZnO to the marine diatom algae, Thalassiosira pseudonana, increasedas exposure increases over time, as measured by growth inhibition (%) of the algae ata constant concentration of nano-ZnO (10 mg/L). The extent of toxicity appeared to behigher from industrial-type nano-ZnO compared to sunscreen-extracted nano-ZnO,though the extent becomes similar when concentrations increase to 50 mg/L. On theother hand, at a fixed exposure time of 48 hrs, the cytotoxicity increases asconcentrations increase with the higher toxicity shown from the industrial-typecompared to sunscreen-induced nano-ZnO. Results indicate that while industrial-typenano-ZnO shows higher toxicity than sunscreen-derived nano-ZnO, the release andextent of toxicity from nano-ZnO extracted from sunscreen is not trivial and should bemonitored for the development of safe manufacturing of nanomaterials-inducedproducts.
