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Toxicity assessment of ZnO nanoparticles to freshwater microalgae Coelastrella terrestris

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Abstract

Commercial usage of ZnO nanoparticles has increased recently due to its versatile applications, raising serious environmental concern because of its ultimate release of nanoparticles in aquatic ecosystem. Therefore, it is important to understand the impact of ZnO nanoparticle toxicity especially on algal flora, which is the primary producer in the aquatic food chain. In the current study, algal growth kinetics was assessed after the exposure of zinc oxide nanoparticles and its bulk counterpart to Coelastrella terrestris (Chlorophyceae). Zinc oxide nanoparticles were found to be more toxic (y = 34.673x, R2 = − 0.101, 1 mg L−1 nanoparticle (NP)) than bulk (y = 50.635x, R2 = 0.173, 1 mg L−1 bulk) by entrapping the algal cell surface. Higher toxicity may be due to oxidative stress within the algal cell as confirmed through biochemical analysis. Biochemical parameters revealed stressful physiological condition in the alga under nanoparticle exposure, as lactate dehydrogenase release (18.89 ± 0.2 NP; 13.67 ± 0.2 bulk), lipid peroxidation (0.9147 ± 1.2 NP; 0.7480 ± 0.8 bulk), and catalase activity (4.77 ± 0.1 NP; 3.32 ± 0.1 bulk) were found higher at 1 mg L−1 in the case of nano-form. Surface adsorptions of nanoparticles were observed by SEM. Cell organelle damage, cell wall breakage, and cytoplasm shrinkage were found as responses under toxic condition through SEM and TEM. Toxicity was found to be influenced by dose concentration and exposure period. This study indicates that nano-form of ZnO is found to be more toxic than bulk form to freshwater alga.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

BG-11:

Blue Green-11

BSA:

Bovine serum albumin

CAT:

Catalase

CDH:

Central drug house

FTIR:

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

LDH:

Lactate dehydrogenase

MDA:

Malondialdehyde assay

NADH:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogen

NCBI:

National Center for Biotechnology Information

NP:

Nanoparticle

PBS :

Phosphate-buffered saline

PDI:

Polydispersity index

SD:

Standard deviation

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

TEM:

Transmission electron microscopy

UV:

Ultraviolet

ZnO:

Zinc oxide

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to the anonymous reviewers for the critical reading of the manuscript and improvement. We wish to acknowledge SAIF, New Delhi, for extending electron microscopy facilities. We are also thankful to Dr. Vinod Saharan, RCA, Udaipur, and Dr. Prabhat Baroliya, MLSU, Udaipur, for providing us DLS and FTIR facilities, respectively.

Funding

Pallavi Saxena received financial support from the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, India, in the form of BSR Meritorious Fellowship (F.25-a/2013-14(BSR)/7-125/2007(BSR)).

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  1. Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, 313001, India

    Pallavi Saxena &  Harish

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Saxena, P., Harish Toxicity assessment of ZnO nanoparticles to freshwater microalgae Coelastrella terrestris. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 26991–27001 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05844-1

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