Phytotoxicity of VO2 nanoparticles with different sizes to pea seedlings

Qun Li; Ruonan Hu; Zhang Chen; Lingyun Chen; Jiahao Zhang; Xian Wu; Jia-Bei Li; Yanfeng Gao; Sheng-Tao Yang; Haifang Wang

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113885

Phytotoxicity of VO₂ nanoparticles with different sizes to pea seedlings

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2022 Sep 1:242:113885. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113885. Epub 2022 Jul 15.

Authors

Qun Li¹, Ruonan Hu¹, Zhang Chen², Lingyun Chen¹, Jiahao Zhang¹, Xian Wu¹, Jia-Bei Li³, Yanfeng Gao², Sheng-Tao Yang⁴, Haifang Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Pollution Control Chemistry and Environmental Functional Materials for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission and Key Laboratory of General Chemistry of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.
³ Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Pollution Control Chemistry and Environmental Functional Materials for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission and Key Laboratory of General Chemistry of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China. Electronic address: yangst@swun.edu.cn.
⁵ Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China. Electronic address: hwang@shu.edu.cn.

PMID: 35849906
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113885

Abstract

Vanadium dioxide nanoparticles (VO₂ NPs) have been massively produced due to their excellent metal-insulator transition characteristics for various applications. Pilot studies indicated the toxicity of VO₂ NPs to bacteria and mammalian cells, but the environmental hazards of VO₂ NPs to plants have been unrevealed to date. In this study, we reported the inhibitive effects of VO₂ NPs to the growth and photosynthesis of pea seedlings. Laboratory synthesized monoclinic VO₂ NPs (N-VO₂), commercial nanosized VO₂ NPs (S-VO₂), and commercial microsized VO₂ particles (M-VO₂) were carefully characterized for environmental toxicity evaluations. VO₂ particles were supplemented to culture medium for seed germination and seedling growth. All three VO₂ samples did not affect the germination rates of pee seeds, while serious growth inhibition of pea seedlings was observed at 10 mg/L for S-VO₂ and N-VO₂, and 100 mg/L for M-VO₂. VO₂ particles had no impact on the chlorophyll contents, but the photosynthesis of leaf was significantly decreased following the consequence of N-VO₂ > S-VO₂ > M-VO₂. The inhibition of photosynthesis was attributed to the damage of acceptor side of photosystem II by VO₂ particles at high concentrations. Abundant bioaccumulations of vanadium in roots aroused oxidative damage and changed the root structure. Our results collectively indicated that the phytotoxicity of VO₂ NPs was related to the concentration, size and crystalline degree.

Keywords: Environmental hazards; Nanotoxicity; Photosynthesis; Size effect; Vanadium dioxide.

MeSH terms

Germination / drug effects
Metal Nanoparticles* / chemistry
Metal Nanoparticles* / toxicity
Oxides* / toxicity
Pisum sativum* / drug effects
Plant Roots / drug effects
Seedlings* / drug effects
Vanadium Compounds* / toxicity

Substances

Oxides
Vanadium Compounds
vanadium dioxide