Nanoparticles serve various industrial and domestic purposes which is reflected in their steadily increasing production volume. This economic success comes along with their presence in the environment and the risk of potentially adverse effects in natural systems. Over the last decade, substantial progress regarding the understanding of sources, fate, and effects of nanoparticles has been made. Predictions of environmental concentrations based on modelling approaches could recently be confirmed by measured concentrations in the field. Nonetheless, analytical techniques are, as covered elsewhere, still under development to more efficiently and reliably characterize and quantify nanoparticles, as well as to detect them in complex environmental matrixes. Simultaneously, the effects of nanoparticles on aquatic and terrestrial systems have received increasing attention. While the debate on the relevance of nanoparticle-released metal ions for their toxicity is still ongoing, it is a re-occurring phenomenon that inert nanoparticles are able to interact with biota through physical pathways such as biological surface coating. This among others interferes with the growth and behaviour of exposed organisms. Moreover, co-occurring contaminants interact with nanoparticles. There is multiple evidence suggesting nanoparticles as a sink for organic and inorganic co-contaminants. On the other hand, in the presence of nanoparticles, repeatedly an elevated effect on the test species induced by the co-contaminants has been reported. In this paper, we highlight recent achievements in the field of nano-ecotoxicology in both aquatic and terrestrial systems but also refer to substantial gaps that require further attention in the future.

/pdf/nanoparticles-in-the-environment-where-do-we-come-from-where-48oowuooy3.pdf

Nanoparticles in the environment: where do we come from, where do we go to?

/pdf/tadpoles-the-biology-of-anuran-larvae-1srxbfb0hr.pdf

Tadpoles: the biology of anuran larvae

Reviews Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

The increasing production and use of engineered silver nanoparticles (AgNP) in industry and private households are leading to increased concentrations of AgNP in the environment. An ecological risk assessment of AgNP is needed, but it requires understanding the long term effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of AgNP on the soil microbiome. Hence, the aim of this study was to reveal the long-term effects of AgNP on soil microorganisms. The study was conducted as a laboratory incubation experiment over a period of one year using a loamy soil and AgNP concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 1 mg AgNP/kg soil. The short term effects of AgNP were, in general, limited. However, after one year of exposure to 0.01 mg AgNP/kg, there were significant negative effects on soil microbial biomass (quantified by extractable DNA; p = 0.000) and bacterial ammonia oxidizers (quantified by amoA gene copy numbers; p = 0.009). Furthermore, the tested AgNP concentrations significantly decreased the soil microbial biomass, the leucine aminopeptidase activity (quantified by substrate turnover; p = 0.014), and the abundance of nitrogen fixing microorganisms (quantified by nifH gene copy numbers; p = 0.001). The results of the positive control with AgNO3 revealed predominantly stronger effects due to Ag+ ion release. Thus, the increasing toxicity of AgNP during the test period may reflect the long-term release of Ag+ ions. Nevertheless, even very low concentrations of AgNP caused disadvantages for the microbial soil community, especially for nitrogen cycling, and our results confirmed the risks of releasing AgNP into the environment.

Long-term effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of silver nanoparticles on microbial biomass, enzyme activity, and functional genes involved in the nitrogen cycle of loamy soil.

Nanotechnology in aquaculture: Applications, perspectives and regulatory challenges

European common frog Rana temporaria (Anura: Ranidae) larvae show subcellular responses under field-relevant Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) exposure levels.

Nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (nTiO2) is frequently applied, raising concerns about potential side effects on the environment. While various studies have assessed structural effects in aquatic model ecosystems, its impact on ecosystem functions provided by microbial communities (biofilms) is not well understood. This is all the more the case when considering additional stressors, such as UV irradiation — a factor known to amplify nTiO2-induced toxicity. Using pairwise comparisons, we assessed the impact of UV (UV-A = 1.6 W/m2; UV-B = 0.7 W/m2) at 0, 20 or 2000 μg nTiO2/L on two ecosystem functions provided by leaf-associated biofilms: while leaf litter conditioning, important for detritivorous invertebrate nutrition, seems unaffected, microbial leaf decomposition was stimulated (up to 25%) by UV, with effect sizes being higher in the presence of nTiO2. Although stoichiometric and microbial analyses did not allow for uncovering the underlying mechanism, it seems plausible that the combination of a shift in biofilm community composition and activity together with photodegradation as well as the formation of reactive oxygen species triggered changes in leaf litter decomposition. The present study implies that the multiple functions a microbial community performs are not equally sensitive. Consequently, relying on one of the many functions realized by the same microbial community may be misleading for environmental management.

/pdf/photoactive-titanium-dioxide-nanoparticles-modify-41978xuucp.pdf

Photoactive titanium dioxide nanoparticles modify heterotrophic microbial functioning

Understanding of the interplay of generally known colloidal transformations under conditions of test media (TM) used during cultivation of organisms and biological effect (=ecotoxicological) studies is still limited, although this knowledge is required for an adequate interpretation of test outcomes and for a comparison among different studies. In this context, we investigated the aggregation and dissolution dynamics of citrate-stabilized silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) by varying the composition of three TM (ASTM, SAM-5S, and R2A, used during bioassays with Daphnia magna, Gammarus fossarum, and bacterial biofilms, respectively) in the presence and absence of two types of natural organic matter (NOM), namely, Suwanee River humic acid (SRHA) and seaweed extract (SW). Each original test medium induced reaction-limited aggregation of Ag NPs, and aggregation increased from R2A to SAM-5S and ASTM. In addition to the differences in aggregation dynamics, the concentration and speciation of Ag(I) differed between the three TM, whereby SAM-5S and ASTM are comparable with respect to the nature of the aggregation process but clearly differ from the R2A medium. Furthermore, Cl−, mainly present in SAM-5S, induced NP stabilization. The release of silver ions from Ag NPs was controlled by the presence of NOM and organic constituents of TM and by interactions with Cl− and Br−. The degree of aggregation, formation of interparticle cation–NOM bridges or stabilization was larger for Ca2+ than for Mg2+ due to the stronger ability of Ca2+ to interact with citrate or NOM compared to Mg2+. These observations and the dependence of aggregation rates on the particle concentration renders the interpretation of dose–response relationships challenging, but they may open perspectives for targeted ecotoxicological testing by modifications of TM composition.

/pdf/impact-of-chemical-composition-of-ecotoxicological-test-1bt59pl1hd.pdf

Impact of chemical composition of ecotoxicological test media on the stability and aggregation status of silver nanoparticles

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European common frog Rana temporaria (Anura: Ranidae) larvae show subcellular responses under field-relevant Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) exposure levels.

Photoactive titanium dioxide nanoparticles modify heterotrophic microbial functioning

Impact of chemical composition of ecotoxicological test media on the stability and aggregation status of silver nanoparticles