Comparison of acute to chronic ratios between silver and gold nanoparticles, using Ceriodaphnia dubia.

As integration of nanoparticles (NPs) into products becomes more common, the need to address the paucity of chronic hazard information for aquatic environments required to determine risk potential increases. This study generated acute and chronic toxicity reference values for Ceriodaphnia dubia exposed to 20 and 100 nm silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to generate and evaluate potential differences in acute-to-chronic ratios (ACR) using two different feeding methods. A modified feeding procedure was employed alongside the standard procedures to investigate the influence of food on organism exposure. An 8-h period before food was added allowed direct organism exposure to NP dispersions (and associated ions) without food-to-NP interactions. The AgNPs [chronic lethal median concentrations (LC50) between 18.7 and 31.9 µg/L] were substantially more toxic than AuNPs (LC50 = 21 507 to >26 384 µg/L). The modified chronic testing method resulted in greater sensitivity in AgNPs exposures. However, the modified feeding ration had less of an effect in exposures to the larger (100 nm) AgNPs compared to smaller particles (20 nm). The ACRs for AgNPs using the standard feeding ration were 1.6 and 3.5 for 20 nm and 100 nm, respectively. The ACRs for AgNPs using the modified feeding ration were 3.4 and 7.6 for 20 nm and 100 nm NPs, respectively. This supports that the addition of the standard feeding ration decreases C. dubia chronic sensitivity to AgNPs, although it must also be recognized organisms may be sensitized due to less access to food. The ACRs for 20 nm and 100 nm AuNPs (standard ration only) were 4.0 and 3.0, respectively. It is important to also consider that dissolved Ag+ ions are more toxic than AgNPs, based on both acute toxicity values in the cited literature and chronic toxicity thresholds generated in this study that support existing thresholds that Ag+ are likely protective of AgNPs effects.

Life stage sensitivity of the marine mussel Mytilus edulis to ammonia.

Ammonia is an important contaminant to consider in all toxicity tests. It is especially important to consider the impacts of ammonia in test methods that use sensitive water column organisms exposed to sediments or sediment extracts, such as porewater and elutriate toxicity tests. Embryo-larval development toxicity tests, such as the 48-h method using Mytilus mussel species, are particularly sensitive to ammonia. To better understand the effect thresholds across different life stages of these mussels, 6 short-term (48-h) development toxicity tests and 3 21-d toxicity tests with different-sized juvenile mussels were conducted. Two of the juvenile mussel tests involved 21-d continuous chronic exposure to ammonia, whereas the third involved an acute 2-d ammonia exposure, followed by a 19-d recovery period. The embryo-larval development test method (50% effect concentration [EC50] = 0.14-0.18 mg/L un-ionized ammonia) was 2.5 times more sensitive than the juvenile mussel 21-d survival endpoint (50% lethal concentration = 0.39 mg/L un-ionized ammonia) and 2 times more sensitive than the most sensitive sublethal juvenile mussel endpoint (EC50 = 0.26 mg/L un-ionized ammonia). Further, it was found that the juveniles recovered from a 48-h exposure to un-ionized ammonia of up to 1.1 mg/L. The data generated suggest that the embryo development endpoint was sufficiently sensitive to un-ionized ammonia to protect the chronically exposed (21 d) juvenile mussels. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:89-95. Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

Accumulation of 2,4-dinitroanisole in the earthworm Eisenia fetida from chemically spiked and aged natural soils.

An initiative within the US military is targeting the replacement of traditional munitions constituents with insensitive munitions to reduce the risk of accidental detonation. The bioavailability and bioaccumulative potential of the insensitive munitions compound 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN) to Eisenia fetida was assessed in soils with different geochemical characteristics. Prior to exposure, soils were chemically spiked with DNAN and aged for 1 wk or 29 wk. Transformation products 2- and 4-amino-nitroanisole (2A-4NAN and 4A-2NAN) occurred in aged soils and their porewater but never at concentrations higher than the residual DNAN. The sum of DNAN, 2A-4NAN, and 4A-2NAN (sumDNAN) in soil decreased with aging, likely by irreversible binding. Both clay and organic matter contents of the soil appeared to affect the bioavailability of DNAN. The sumDNAN body residues of earthworms approached apparent steady state after 1 d and remained relatively constant through to day 7. Higher concentrations of 2A-4NAN and 4A-2NAN measured in worm tissues relative to those in soil suggest reductive transformation of DNAN in the tissues. Mean bioaccumulation factors (ratio of tissue to soil concentrations) varied from 1.2 to 4.3, whereas mean bioconcentration factors (ratio of tissue to porewater concentrations) ranged from 1.4 to 3.2. Porewater seems to play a significant role in the accumulation of DNAN in earthworms, consistent with equilibrium partitioning theory. The concentration of DNAN in soil porewater could serve as an indicator of bioavailability as well as a predictor of the concentration of that compound in earthworms. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1835-1842. Publlished 2015 SETAC. This article is a US Government work, and as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

Determination of nanosilver dissolution kinetics and toxicity in an environmentally relevant aqueous medium.

Assessing the dissolution of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in laboratory test media and in the aquatic environment is critical for determining toxicity. In the present study, the ion-release kinetics for 20-nm, 50-nm, and 80-nm AgNPs in environmentally relevant freshwaters with different electrical conductivity values (30 µS/cm, 150 µS/cm) were examined and related to the associated impact on Daphnia magna. The acute toxicity of the AgNP suspensions to D. magna was assessed after 0 d and 7 d of interaction time between the particles and test media. When 48-h lethal median concentrations were expressed as total silver, D. magna was more sensitive to AgNPs suspended in low ionic strength media relative to higher ionic strength media, with the exception of 50-nm AgNPs suspended in the 150-µS/cm medium. A 3.3-fold increase in hydrodynamic diameter measured by dynamic light scattering and field flow fractionation was observed over time for 20-nm particles in the 150-µS/cm medium, but only a small increase in aggregation size for 50-nm and 80-nm particles (1.4-fold and 1.2-fold increase, respectively) was observed. At a lower conductivity of 30 µS/cm, a 1.7-fold, 1.0-fold, and 1.2-fold increase in aggregation size was observed in the 20-nm, 50-nm, and 80-nm particles, respectively. Thus, the impact of higher conductivity test media on increased aggregation and decreased toxicity (after 7 d) was relatively greater for the smaller (20-nm) AgNP higher compared to the 50-80 nm AgNPs.

Comparing the effects of nanosilver size and coating variations on bioavailability, internalization, and elimination, using Lumbriculus variegatus.

As the production and applications of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) increase, it is essential to characterize fate and effects in environmental systems. Nanosilver materials may settle from suspension; therefore, the authors' objective was to utilize environmentally relevant bioassays and study the impact, bioaccumulation, tissue distribution, uptake, and depuration of AgNPs on a sediment-dwelling invertebrate, Lumbriculus variegatus. Hydrodynamic diameters of uncoated 30-nm, 80-nm, and 1500-nm AgNP powders and a polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) AgNP suspension were measured utilizing dynamic light scattering in freshwater media (0-280 µS/cm). Aggregation for 30 nm, 80 nm, and 1500 nm silver increased with conductivity but was minimal for PVP silver. Lumbriculus variegatus were exposed to AgNPs or silver nitrate (AgNO3 ) spiked into sediment (nominally 100 mg/kg) and water (PVP 30 nm and 70 nm Ag, nominally 5 mg/L). Uptake was assessed through inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and hyperspectral imaging. Particle sizes were examined through field flow fractionation-ICP-MS (FFF-ICP-MS) and ICP-MS in single particle mode (SP-ICP-MS). Lumbriculus variegatus were also depurated for 6 h, 8 h, 24 h, and 48 h to determine gut clearance. Bioaccumulation factors of sediment-exposed L. variegatus were similar regardless of particle size or coatings. The FFF-ICP-MS and SP-ICP-MS detected AgNPs for up to 48 h post depuration. The present study provides information on bioaccumulation and interactions of AgNPs within biological systems.