CeO2 nanoparticle fate in environmental conditions and toxicity on a freshwater predator species: a microcosm study

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 24; no. 20; pp. 17081 - 17089
• Main Authors: Bour, Agathe, Mouchet, Florence, Cadarsi, Stéphanie, Silvestre, Jérôme, Baqué, David, Gauthier, Laury, Pinelli, Eric
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.07.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioaccumulation; Chains; Citric acid; Consortia; Consumers; Contamination; Dissolution; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental conditions; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Experiments; Freshwater organisms; Genotoxicity; Indoor environments; Laboratories; Larvae; Microbial activity; Microcosms; Microorganisms; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Particle size; Research Article; Sediments; Toxicity; Waste Water Technology; Water column; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Trophic chain; Long-term exposure; Nanoparticle partitioning; Microcosm; Cerium dioxide nanoparticles; Genotoxicity; Amphibians
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-9346-1

We studied the fate and toxicity of two types of CeO 2 NPs (bare or citrate-coated) in environmentally relevant conditions, using large indoor microcosms. Long-term exposure was carried out on a three-leveled freshwater trophic chain, comprising microbial communities as primary producers, chironomid larvae as primary consumers, and amphibian larvae as secondary consumers. Whereas coated NPs preferentially sedimented, bare NPs were mainly found in the water column. However, mass balance indicated low recovery (51.5%) for bare NPs, indicating possible NP loss, against 98.8% of recovery for coated NPs. NPs were rather chemically stable, with less than 4% of dissolution. Chironomid larvae ingested large amounts of NPs and were vectors of contamination for amphibian larvae. Although bioaccumulation in amphibian larvae was important (9.47 and 9.74 mg/kg for bare and coated NPs, respectively), no biomagnification occurred through the trophic chain. Finally, significant genotoxicity was observed in amphibian larvae, bare CeO 2 NPs being more toxic than citrate-coated NPs. ᅟ