Degradability of aged aquatic suspensions of C60 nanoparticles

Abstract

In this study, aged aqueous suspensions of C(60) (nC(60)) were investigated in the respirometric OECD test for ready biodegradability. Two suspensions of nC(60) were prepared by stirring and aged under indirect exposure to sunlight for 36 months. ATR-FTIR analyses confirmed the presence of C(60)-structures in the suspensions. Samples of the nC(60) suspensions (20mg/l) were inoculated with activated sludge (30 mgTSS/L) and incubated in a mineral medium under aerobic conditions. Since no mineralisation of nC(60) was observed after 28 days of incubation, 5mg/l sodium acetate was added to the media. After additional 20 days, no mineralisation of nC(60) was observed. However, within a few days sodium acetate was completely mineralised, showing that the biomass was not inhibited by the presence of nC(60). Based on results from this simple approach, aged nC(60) can be classified as not ready biodegradable according to the standard OECD test procedure.