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Influence of silver, copper and nanoplastic nanoparticles on the growth of the marine microalga Chlorella salina

In the last two decades engineered nanoparticles (NPs) have become ubiquitous in everyday life. They have found their application in almost all sectors of industry, such as biotechnology, medicine, textile, and cosmetics industry due to their unique size and physicochemical properties [1]. It is increasingly likely that NP will enter the aquatic environment and be transported from wastewater, through freshwater, to marine waters with the corresponding potential to come into contact with a wide range of organisms [2]. For this reason, and the fact that NP may be toxic to biota, the influence of metal, metal oxide and polymer nanoparticles has been studied in the marine microalga Chlorella salina. Microalgae are important test organisms as they encompass primary production as autotrophs, and any changes to this biomass production can affect the entire marine ecosystem [3]. To determine the effects of variously-coated silver (Ag-NPs), citrate and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) – stabilized Ag-NPs of diameter 20, 40, 60, and 80 nm were tested in the concentration range 0.01–10 μg / L. To examine the effect of nanoparticle oxidation state on C. salina different copper (Cu- NPs) were examined: Cu, CuO and Cu2O, with concentrations ranging from 1 to 1000 µg / L. Furthermore, synthesized polystyrene (PS-NPs) of 20 and 40 nm, and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA- NPs) of 20 nm, were used to study the effect of nanoplastics in the concentration range 0.25–5 mg / L. Results show that silver and copper have a strong negative effect on algal growth kinetics, while polymer NP had a less pronounced impact. Significant disturbance of photosynthesis electron transfer processes in C. salina was noted after treatment with metal and metal oxide NP, indicating a route by which growth of algal biomass was hindered. The results indicate the potential deleterious effects of NP reaching the aquatic environment and have broader implications for marine food webs of which microalgae form the base level. Moreover, bioaccumulation of these NP in microalgae followed by trophic transfer represents a threat to other organisms such as, for example, mussels and sea urchins.

silver ; copper ; nanoplastic ; Chlorella salina

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