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Cytotoxic impacts of CuO nanoparticles on the marine microalga Nannochloropsis oculata

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Abstract

The toxic impacts of CuO nanoparticles (NPs) on the marine phytoplankton Nannochloropsis oculata were evaluated by measuring a number of biological parameters. Exposure to different concentrations of CuO-NPs (5–200 mg/L) significantly decreased the growth and content of chlorophyll a of N. oculata. The results showed that CuO-NPs were toxic to this microalga with a half maximal effective concentration (EC50) of 116.981 mg/L. Exposure to CuO-NPs increased the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content and induced the membrane damages. Moreover, the concentration of phenolic compounds was increased, while the levels of carotenoids were markedly decreased in comparison to the control sample. The activity of catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzymes significantly was increased in response to CuO-NPs treatments. These results indicated that CuO-NPs stimulated the antioxidant defense system in N. oculata to protect the cells against the oxidative damages. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses showed that the main functional groups (C=O and C–O–C) interacted with CuO-NPs. The images of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the cell membrane damage and the change of cell wall structure which may be contributed to the nanotoxicity. These findings may provide additional insights into the mechanisms of cytotoxicity induced by CuO-NPs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, University of Hormozgan, Minab Road, Bandar Abbas, Iran

    Nasrin Fazelian & Morteza Yousefzadi

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

    Ali Movafeghi

  3. Food Health Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

    Mahsa Rahimzadeh

  4. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

    Mahsa Rahimzadeh

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  1. Nasrin Fazelian
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  2. Ali Movafeghi
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  4. Mahsa Rahimzadeh
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Correspondence to Morteza Yousefzadi.

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Fazelian, N., Movafeghi, A., Yousefzadi, M. et al. Cytotoxic impacts of CuO nanoparticles on the marine microalga Nannochloropsis oculata. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 17499–17511 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05130-0

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