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The toxic effects of l-Cysteine-capped cadmium sulfide nanoparticles on the aquatic plant Spirodela polyrrhiza

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Abstract

Plants play an important role in the fate of nanoparticles in the environment through their uptake, bioaccumulation, and transfer to trophic chains. However, the impacts of nanoparticles on plants as essential components of all ecosystems are not well documented. In the present study, the toxic effects of l-Cysteine-capped CdS nanoparticles on Spirodela polyrrhiza as an aquatic higher plant species were studied. l-Cysteine-capped CdS nanoparticles were synthesized using hydrothermal method and their characteristics were determined by XRD, SEM, HR-TEM, and FT-IR techniques. The diameter of majority of synthesized nanoparticles was about 15–20 nm. Subsequently, the uptake of l-Cysteine-capped CdS nanoparticles by the plant species was confirmed using epifluorescence microscopy. The activity of peroxidase and superoxide dismutase as antioxidant enzymes was assayed and the relative frond number was calculated in the presence of different concentrations of l-Cysteine-capped CdS nanoparticles. The obtained results revealed the toxic effects of the synthesized nanoparticles on S. polyrrhiza, leading to growth reduction and significant changes in antioxidant enzymes’ activity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the University of Tabriz, Iran, for all support provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Laboratory of Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

    Alireza Khataee & Fatemeh Nazari

  2. Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

    Ali Movafeghi, Fatemeh Nazari & Fatemeh Vafaei

  3. Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Dadpour

  4. School of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 712-749, South Korea

    Younes Hanifehpour & Sang Woo Joo

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  1. Alireza Khataee
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  2. Ali Movafeghi
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Correspondence to Alireza Khataee or Sang Woo Joo.

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Khataee, A., Movafeghi, A., Nazari, F. et al. The toxic effects of l-Cysteine-capped cadmium sulfide nanoparticles on the aquatic plant Spirodela polyrrhiza . J Nanopart Res 16, 2774 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-014-2774-7

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