Impacts of organic matter on the toxicity of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles to green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris

Mehdi Khoshnamvand; Saeed Ashtiani; Yongsheng Chen; Jingfu Liu

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2020.109433

Impacts of organic matter on the toxicity of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles to green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris

Environ Res. 2020 Jun:185:109433. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109433. Epub 2020 Mar 27.

Authors

Mehdi Khoshnamvand¹, Saeed Ashtiani², Yongsheng Chen³, Jingfu Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: mehdi.khoshnam@yahoo.com.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Qingdao Key Laboratory of Functional Membrane Matter and Membrane Technology, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101, China. Electronic address: saeed@qibebt.ac.cn.
³ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA. Electronic address: yongsheng.chen@ce.gatech.edu.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: jfliu@rcees.ac.cn.

PMID: 32247152
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109433

Abstract

The increasing production of eco-friendly nanoparticles like biosynthesized nanoparticles (BNPs) calls for study on their environmental and biological safety. Herein, the impact of natural organic matter on the toxicity of BNPs was studied. Using leaf extract of herbal plant Allium fistulosum, the Allium fistulosum-silver nanoparticles (AF-AgNPs) were synthesized with the yield of around 100% and used to explore the impacts of natural organic matter (Suwannee river humic acid) on their toxicity to green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris. The results showed that the as-prepared AF-AgNPs could decrease the end-points of biomass and chlorophyll a content of C. vulgaris in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, AF-AgNPs enhanced algal aggregation and decreased size of cells, especially at higher concentrations. However, organic matter showed an ameliorative effect on the toxicity of AF-AgNPs, and significant enhancement of biomass and chlorophyll a content (p < 0.05) were observed in media treated with higher contents of AF-AgNPs. Organic matter could also prevent more cellular aggregation and size reduction of C. vulgaris. Our results are helpful for understanding the effects of organic matter on the toxicity of BNPs to aquatic organisms.

Keywords: Allium fistulosum; Biosynthesized silver nanoparticles; Chlorella vulgaris; Organic matter; Toxicity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Chlorella vulgaris*
Chlorophyll A
Metal Nanoparticles* / toxicity
Microalgae*
Silver / toxicity

Substances

Silver
Chlorophyll A