Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ageing decreases the phytotoxicity of zero-valent iron nanoparticles in soil cultivated with Oryza sativa

  • Published:
Ecotoxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper was aimed to study the impact of “ageing” (aged in non-saturated soil for 2 and 4 weeks prior to exposure) nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) on the terrestrial plant. The effects of nZVI on Oryza Sativa germination, seedlings growth, chlorophyll biosynthesis, oxidative stress and the activities of antioxidant enzymes at low (250 mg/kg) and high (1000 mg/kg) concentrations were investigated in this study. The results showed that neither the freshly added nor the “ageing” nZVI to the soil had a significant effect on germination, regardless of concentration. At the low concentration, the freshly added nZVI had no visible toxic effects on the rice seedlings growth, but the rice seedlings exhibited obvious toxic symptoms at the high concentration. At the high concentration, toxicity effects of nZVI were reduced after aging with 2 and 4 weeks in soils compared to fresh nZVI, but the “ageing” nZVI continued to significantly inhibit the rice seedlings growth compared with the control, and the inhibition rates of 2 and 4-week-old nZVI were not significantly different. The mechanism of ageing decreased the phytotoxicity of nZVI was due to nZVI particles incomplete oxidation, and some of which had remained in the soil after 4 weeks aged.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aebi H (1984) Catalase in vitro. Methods Enzymol 105:121–126

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boonyanitipong P, Kositsup B, Kumar P, Baruah S, Dutta J (2011) Toxicity of ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles on germinating rice seed Oryza sativa L. Int J Biosci Biochem Bioinform 1:282–285

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang MC, Kang HY (2009) Remediation of pyrene-contaminated soil by synthesized nanoscale zero-valent iron particles. J Environ Sci Health Part A 44:576–582

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chaoui A, Mazhoudi S, Ghorbal MH, El Ferjani E (1997) Cadmium and zinc induction of lipid peroxidation and effects on antioxidant enzyme activities in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Plant Sci 127:139–147

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen PJ, Tan SW, Wu WL (2012) Stabilization or oxidation of nanoscale zerovalent iron at environmentally relevant exposure changes bioavailability and toxicity in medaka fish. Environ Sci Technol 46:8431–8439

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott DW, Lien HL, Zhang WX (2009) Degradation of lindane by zero-valent iron nanoparticles. J Environ Eng 135:317–324

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Elstner EF, Heupel A (1976) Inhibition of nitrite formation from hydroxylammoniumchloride: a simple assay for superoxide dismutase. Anal Biochem 70:616–620

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • El-Temsah YS, Joner EJ (2012a) Impact of Fe and Ag nanoparticles on seed germination and differences in bioavailability during exposure in aqueous suspension and soil. Environ Toxicol 27:42–49

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • El-Temsah YS, Joner EJ (2012b) Ecotoxicological effects on earthworms of fresh and aged nano-sized zero-valent iron (nZVI) in soil. Chemosphere 89:76–82

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • El-Temsah YS, Oughton DH, Joner EJ (2013) Effects of nano-sized zero-valent iron on DDT degradation and residual toxicity in soil: a column experiment. Plant Soil 368:189–200

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang Z, Qiu X, Chen J, Qiu X (2010) Degradation of metronidazole by nanoscale zero-valent metal prepared from steel pickling waste liquor. Appl Catal B 100:221–228

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang Z, Chen J, Qiu X, Qiu X, Cheng W, Zhu L (2011) Effective removal of antibiotic metronidazole from water by nanoscale zero-valent iron particles. Desalination 268:60–67

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Forest Soil Laboratory for Research, Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry (1999) Determination of forest soil effective iron. vol LY/T 1262-1999. Forestry Industry Standard, People’s Republic of China

  • Foyer CH, Shigeoka S (2011) Understanding oxidative stress and antioxidant functions to enhance photosynthesis. Plant Physiol 155:93–100

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fresco L (2005) Rice is life. J Food Compos Anal 18:249–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghafariyan MH, Malakouti MJ, Dadpour MR, Stroeve P, Mahmoudi M (2013) Effects of magnetite nanoparticles on soybean chlorophyll. Environ Sci Technol 47:10645–10652

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keenan CR, Goth-Goldstein R, Lucas D, Sedlak DL (2009) Oxidative stress induced by zero-valent iron nanoparticles and Fe(II) in human bronchial epithelial cells. Environ Sci Technol 43:4555–4560

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim JH, Lee Y, Kim EJ, Gu S, Sohn EJ, Seo YS, An HJ, Chang YS (2014) Exposure of iron nanoparticles to Arabidopsis Thaliana enhances root elongation by triggering cell wall loosening. Environ Sci Technol 48:3477–3485

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kirschling TL, Gregory KB, Minkley J, Edwin G, Lowry GV, Tilton RD (2010) Impact of nanoscale zero valent iron on geochemistry and microbial populations in trichloroethylene contaminated aquifer materials. Environ Sci Technol 44:3474–3480

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koelmel J, Leland T, Wang H, Amarasiriwardena D, Xing B (2013) Investigation of gold nanoparticles uptake and their tissue level distribution in rice plants by laser ablation-inductively coupled-mass spectrometry. Environ Pollut 174:222–228

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, Greden K, Alvarez PJ, Gregory KB, Lowry GV (2010) Adsorbed polymer and NOM limits adhesion and toxicity of nano scale zerovalent iron to E. coli. Environ Sci Technol 44:3462–3467

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin C, Fugetsu B, Su Y, Watari F (2009) Studies on toxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on Arabidopsis T87 suspension cells. J Hazard Mater 170:578–583

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsay WL (1979) Chemical equilibria in soils. Wiley, Hoboken

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Lowry GV (2006) Effect of particle age (Fe0 content) and solution pH on NZVI reactivity: H2 evolution and TCE dechlorination. Environ Sci Technol 40:6085–6090

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • López-Moreno ML, de la Rosa G, Hernández-Viezcas JA, Peralta-Videa JR, Gardea-Torresdey JL (2010) X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) corroboration of the uptake and storage of CeO2 nanoparticles and assessment of their differential toxicity in four edible plant species. J Agric Food Chem 58:3689–3693

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma X, Gurung A, Deng Y (2013) Phytotoxicity and uptake of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) by two plant species. Sci Total Environ 443:844–849

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marsalek B, Jancula D, Marsalkova E, Mashlan M, Safarova K, Tucek J, Zboril R (2012) Multimodal action and selective toxicity of zerovalent iron nanoparticles against cyanobacteria. Environ Sci Technol 46:2316–2323

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marschner H (1995) Mineral nutrition of higher plants, 2nd edn. Academic Press, London, p 889

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazumdar H, Ahmed G (2011) Phytotoxicity effect of silver nanoparticles on Oryza sativa. Int J ChemTech Res 3:1494–1500

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nakano Y, Asada K (1981) Hydrogen peroxide is scavenged by ascorbate-specific peroxidase in spinach chloroplasts. Plant Cell Physiol 22:867–880

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2003) Guideline for the testing of chemicals—proposal for updating guideline 208. (Terrestrial Plant Test 208: Seedling Emergence and Seedling Growth Test)

  • Oleszczuk P, Jośko I, Skwarek E (2015) Surfactants decrease the toxicity of ZnO, TiO2 and Ni nanoparticles to Daphnia magna. Ecotoxicology 24:1923–1932

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Park H, Park YM, Oh SK, You KM, Lee SH (2009) Enhanced reduction of nitrate by supported nanoscale zero-valent iron prepared in ethanol-water solution. Environ Technol 30:261–267

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paula ST, Cornelis AM, Gestel A, John M, Peter K, Claus S (2016) Toxicokinetics of Ag in the terrestrial isopod Porcellionides pruinosus exposed to Ag NPs and AgNO3 via soil and food. Ecotoxicology 25:267–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phenrat T, Long TC, Lowry GV, Veronesi B (2008) Partial oxidation (“aging”) and surface modification decrease the toxicity of nanosized zerovalent iron. Environ Sci Technol 43:195–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pierson E, Clark R (1984) Ferrous iron determination in plant tissue. J Plant Nutr 7:107–116

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ponder SM, Darab JG, Mallouk TE (2000) Remediation of Cr(VI) and Pb(II) aqueous solutions using supported, nanoscale zero-valent iron. Environ Sci Technol 34:2564–2569

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rico CM, Hong J, Morales MI, Zhao L, Barrios AC, Zhang JY, Peralta-Videa JR, Gardea-Torresdey JL (2013) Effect of cerium oxide nanoparticles on rice: a study involving the antioxidant defense system and in vivo fluorescence imaging. Environ Sci Technol 47:5635–5642

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shen CX, Zhang QF, Li J, Bi FC, Yao N (2010) Induction of programmed cell death in Arabidopsis and rice by single-wall carbon nanotubes. Am J Bot 97:1602–1609

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shih YH, Tai YT (2010) Reaction of decabrominated diphenyl ether by zerovalent iron nanoparticles. Chemosphere 78:1200–1206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart RR, Bewley JD (1980) Lipid peroxidation associated with accelerated aging of soybean axes. Plant Physiol 65:245–248

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tan XM, Lin C, Fugetsu B (2009) Studies on toxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on suspension rice cells. Carbon 47:3479–3487

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang CB, Zhang WX (1997) Synthesizing nanoscale iron particles for rapid and complete dechlorination of TCE and PCBs. Environ Sci Technol 31:2154–2156

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang H, Kou X, Pei Z, Xiao JQ, Shan X, Xing B (2011) Physiological effects of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles on perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and pumpkin (Cucurbita mixta) plants. Nanotoxicology 5:30–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang WX (2003) Nanoscale iron particles for environmental remediation: an overview. J Nanopart Res 5:323–332

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41471259). The authors are grateful to all of the study participants, and thankful for the financial support of the Guangdong Technology Research Centre for Ecological Management and Remediation of Water Systems.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Jie Wang, Zhanqiang Fang & Wen Cheng

  2. Guangdong Technology Research Center for Ecological Management and Remediation of Urban Water System, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Jie Wang, Zhanqiang Fang & Wen Cheng

  3. Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong, 00852, China

    Pokeung Eric Tsang

  4. Environmental Engineering Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Dongye Zhao

Authors
  1. Jie Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhanqiang Fang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wen Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Pokeung Eric Tsang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Dongye Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhanqiang Fang or Wen Cheng.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 1247 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, J., Fang, Z., Cheng, W. et al. Ageing decreases the phytotoxicity of zero-valent iron nanoparticles in soil cultivated with Oryza sativa . Ecotoxicology 25, 1202–1210 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-016-1674-2

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-016-1674-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation