Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Toxicity of cadmium selenide nanoparticles on the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris : inducing antioxidative defense response

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Green algae are dominant primary producers in aquatic environments. Thus, assessing the influences of pollutants such as nanoparticles on the algae is of high ecological significance. In the current study, cadmium selenide nanoparticles (CdSe NPs) were synthesized using the hydrothermal method and their characteristics were determined by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) techniques. Subsequently, the toxicity of synthesized nanoparticles on the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris was investigated. The observations by SEM confirmed that exposure to CdSe NPs had severe impacts on the algal morphology. Furthermore, the obtained results revealed the toxic effect of CdSe NPs by a decrease in the number of cells. Measurement of antioxidant enzymes activity showed an increase in the activity of catalase, and a decrease in the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) at high concentrations of CdSe NPs. The exposure of C. vulgaris to CdSe NPs resulted also in a change in algal pigments as well as total phenol content. Taken together, CdSe NPs appeared to have significant cytotoxic effects on C. vulgaris in the applied concentrations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arora A, Byrem TM, Nair MG, Strasburg GM (2000) Modulation of liposomal membrane fluidity by flavonoids and isoflavonoids. Arch Biochem Biophys 373:102–109

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barceló I, Lana-Villarreal T, Gómez R (2011) Efficient sensitization of ZnO nanoporous films with CdSe QDs grown by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). J Photochem Photobiol A Chem 220:47–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Beauchamp C, Fridovich I (1971) Superoxide dismutase: improved assays and an assay applicable to acrylamide gels. Anal Biochem 44:276–287

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benavides MP, Gallego SM, Tomaro ML (2005) Cadmium toxicity in plants. Braz J Plant Physiol 17:21–34

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blokhina O, Virolainen E, Fagerstedt KV (2003) Antioxidants, oxidative damage and oxygen deprivation stress: a review. Ann Bot 91:179–194

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford MM (1976) A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem 72:248–254

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chan WC, Nie S (1998) Quantum dot bioconjugates for ultrasensitive nonisotopic detection. Science 281:2016–2018

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chance B, Maehly A (1955) Assay of catalases and peroxidases. Method Enzymol 2:764–775

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng J, Qiu H, Chang Z, Jiang Z, Yin W (2016) The effect of cadmium on the growth and antioxidant response for freshwater algae Chlorella vulgaris. Springerplus. 5:1290

    Google Scholar 

  • Cui D, Zhang P, Ma Y, He X, Li Y, Zhang J, Zhao Y, Zhang Z (2014) Effect of cerium oxide nanoparticles on asparagus lettuce cultured in an agar medium. Environ Sci Nano 1:459–465

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dai LP, Xiong ZT, Huang Y, Li MJ (2006) Cadmium-induced changes in pigments, total phenolics, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity in fronds of Azolla imbricata. Environ Toxicol 21:505–512

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daughton CG (2004) Non-regulated water contaminants: emerging research. Environ Impact Asses 24:711–732

    Google Scholar 

  • Duan K, Cui M, Wu Y, Huang X, Xue A, Deng X, Luo L (2018) Effect of dibutyl phthalate on tolerance and lipid accumulation in the green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 101:338–343

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dubey A, Goswami M, Yadav K, Chaudhary D (2015) Oxidative stress and nano-toxicity induced by TiO2 and ZnO on WAG cell line. PLos One. 10:e0127493

    Google Scholar 

  • Fazelian N, Movafeghi A, Yousefzadi M, Rahimzadeh M (2019) Cytotoxic impacts of CuO nanoparticles on the marine microalga Nannochloropsis oculata. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:17499–17511

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khataee A, Hosseini M, Hanifehpour Y, Safarpour M, Joo S (2014) Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of Nd-doped ZnSe nanoparticles with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity. Res Chem Intermed 40:495–508

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khataee A, Movafeghi A, Mojaver N, Vafaei F, Tarrahi R, Dadpour MR (2017) Toxicity of copper oxide nanoparticles on Spirodela polyrrhiza: assessing physiological parameters. Res Chem Intermed 43:927–941

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klaine SJ, Alvarez PJ, Batley GE, Fernandes TF, Handy RD, Lyon DY, Mahendra S, McLaughlin MJ, Lead JR (2008) Nanomaterials in the environment: behavior, fate, bioavailability, and effects. Environ Toxicol Chem 27:1825–1851

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kloepfer J, Mielke R, Nadeau J (2005) Uptake of CdSe and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots into bacteria via purine-dependent mechanisms. Appl Environ Microbiol 71:2548–2557

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lesser MP (2006) Oxidative stress in marine environments: Biochemistry and physiological ecology. Annu Rev Physiol 68:253–278

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li F, Liang Z, Zheng X, Zhao W, Wu M, Wang Z (2015) Toxicity of nano-TiO2 on algae and the site of reactive oxygen species production. Aquat Toxicol 158:1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichtenthaler HK (1987) Chlorophylls and carotenoids: pigments of photosynthetic biomembranes. Method Enzymol 148:350–382

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma C, Huangfu X, He Q, Ma J, Huang R (2018) Deposition of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) on surfaces in aquatic systems: a review of interaction forces, experimental approaches, and influencing factors. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:33056–33081

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meda A, Lamien CE, Romito M, Millogo J, Nacoulma OG (2005) Determination of the total phenolic, flavonoid and proline contents in Burkina Fasan honey, as well as their radical scavenging activity. Food Chem 91:571–577

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Melegari SP, Perreault F, Costa RHR, Popovic R, Matias WG (2013) Evaluation of toxicity and oxidative stress induced by copper oxide nanoparticles in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Aquat Toxicol 142:431–440

    Google Scholar 

  • Meng Z-D, Zhu L, Oh W-C (2012) Preparation and high visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity of CdSe and CdSe-C60 nanoparticles. J Ind Eng Chem 18:2004–2009

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morelli E, Cioni P, Posarelli M, Gabellieri E (2012) Chemical stability of CdSe quantum dots in seawater and their effects on a marine microalga. Aquat Toxicol 122:153–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Movafeghi A, Khataee A, Abedi M, Tarrahi R, Dadpour M, Vafaei F (2018) Effects of TiO2 nanoparticles on the aquatic plant Spirodela polyrrhiza: Evaluation of growth parameters, pigment contents and antioxidant enzyme activities. J Environ Sci 64:130–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray JR, Hackett WP (1991) Dihydroflavonol reductase activity in relation to differential anthocyanin accumulation in juvenile and mature phase Hedera helix L. Plant Physiol 97:343–351

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nazari F, Movafeghi A, Jafarirad S, Kosari-Nasab M, Divband B (2018) Synthesis of reduced graphene oxide-silver nanocomposites and assessing their toxicity on the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris. Bionanoscience 8:997–1007

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson A (1939) The Scherrer formula for X-ray particle size determination. Phys Rev 56:978–982

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Piotrowska-Niczyporuk A, Bajguz A, Zambrzycka E, Godlewska-Żyłkiewicz B (2012) Phytohormones as regulators of heavy metal biosorption and toxicity in green alga Chlorella vulgaris (Chlorophyceae). Plant Physiol Biochem 52:52–65

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy MK, Alexander-Lindo RL, Nair MG (2005) Relative inhibition of lipid peroxidation, cyclooxygenase enzymes, and human tumor cell proliferation by natural food colors. J Agric Food Chem 53:9268–9273

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Song G, Gao Y, Wu H, Hou W, Zhang C, Ma H (2012) Physiological effect of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles on Lemna minor. Environ Toxicol Chem 31:2147–2152

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Song G, Hou W, Gao Y, Wang Y, Lin L, Zhang Z, Niu Q, Ma R, Mu L, Wang H (2016) Effects of CuO nanoparticles on Lemna minor. Bot Stud 57:3–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarrahi R, Khataee A, Movafeghi A, Rezanejad F, Gohari G (2017) Toxicological implications of selenium nanoparticles with different coatings along with Se4+ on Lemna minor. Chemosphere 181:655–665

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tian L, Ding J, Zhang W, Yang H, Fu W, Zhou X, Zhao W, Zhang L, Fan X (2011) Synthesis and photoelectric characterization of semiconductor CdSe microrod array by a simple electrochemical synthesis method. Appl Surf Sci 257:10535–10538

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Verma S, Dubey R (2003) Lead toxicity induces lipid peroxidation and alters the activities of antioxidant enzymes in growing rice plants. Plant Sci 164:645–655

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Zhu X, Lao Y, Lv X, Tao Y, Huang B, Wang J, Zhou J, Cai Z (2016) TiO2 nanoparticles in the marine environment: physical effects responsible for the toxicity on algae Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Sci Total Environ 565:818–826

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang F, Guan W, Xu L, Ding Z, Ma H, Ma A, Terry N (2019) Effects of nanoparticles on algae: Adsorption, distribution, ecotoxicity and fate. Appl Sci 9:1534–1548

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xaaldi Kalhor A, Movafeghi A, Mohammadi-Nassab AD, Abedi E, Bahrami A (2017) Potential of the green alga Chlorella vulgaris for biodegradation of crude oil hydrocarbons. Mar pollut bull 123:286–290

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tabriz, 51666-16471, Tabriz, Iran

    Ali Movafeghi, Arezoo Rezaee, Morteza Kosari-Nasab & Roshanak Tarrahi

  2. Research Laboratory of Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, 51666-16471, Tabriz, Iran

    Alireza Khataee, Arezoo Rezaee & Roshanak Tarrahi

  3. Department of Environmental Engineering, Gebze Technical University, 41400, Gebze, Turkey

    Alireza Khataee

  4. Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, 51656-65811, Tabriz, Iran

    Morteza Kosari-Nasab

Authors
  1. Ali Movafeghi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alireza Khataee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Arezoo Rezaee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Morteza Kosari-Nasab
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Roshanak Tarrahi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ali Movafeghi.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Cinta Porte

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Movafeghi, A., Khataee, A., Rezaee, A. et al. Toxicity of cadmium selenide nanoparticles on the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris : inducing antioxidative defense response . Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 36380–36387 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06675-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06675-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation