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CeO2 nanoparticle fate in environmental conditions and toxicity on a freshwater predator species: a microcosm study

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Abstract

We studied the fate and toxicity of two types of CeO2 NPs (bare or citrate-coated) in environmentally relevant conditions, using large indoor microcosms. Long-term exposure was carried out on a three-leveled freshwater trophic chain, comprising microbial communities as primary producers, chironomid larvae as primary consumers, and amphibian larvae as secondary consumers. Whereas coated NPs preferentially sedimented, bare NPs were mainly found in the water column. However, mass balance indicated low recovery (51.5%) for bare NPs, indicating possible NP loss, against 98.8% of recovery for coated NPs. NPs were rather chemically stable, with less than 4% of dissolution. Chironomid larvae ingested large amounts of NPs and were vectors of contamination for amphibian larvae. Although bioaccumulation in amphibian larvae was important (9.47 and 9.74 mg/kg for bare and coated NPs, respectively), no biomagnification occurred through the trophic chain. Finally, significant genotoxicity was observed in amphibian larvae, bare CeO2 NPs being more toxic than citrate-coated NPs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EcoLab, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Toulouse, France

    Agathe Bour, Florence Mouchet, Stéphanie Cadarsi, Jérôme Silvestre, David Baqué, Laury Gauthier & Eric Pinelli

  2. International Consortium for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (iCEINT), Aix-en-Provence, France

    Agathe Bour, Florence Mouchet, Stéphanie Cadarsi, Jérôme Silvestre, Laury Gauthier & Eric Pinelli

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  1. Agathe Bour
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  2. Florence Mouchet
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  3. Stéphanie Cadarsi
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  4. Jérôme Silvestre
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  5. David Baqué
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  7. Eric Pinelli
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Correspondence to Agathe Bour.

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This work was supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) [grant ANR-10-NANO-0006/MESONNET].

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Bour, A., Mouchet, F., Cadarsi, S. et al. CeO2 nanoparticle fate in environmental conditions and toxicity on a freshwater predator species: a microcosm study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 17081–17089 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9346-1

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