Nanoplastics are widely distributed in freshwater environments, but few studies have addressed their effects on freshwater algae, especially on harmful algae. In this study, the effects of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics on Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) growth, as well as microcystin (MC) production and release, were investigated over the whole growth period. The results show that PS nanoplastics caused a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on M. aeruginosa growth and a dose-dependent increase in the aggregation rate peaking at 60.16% and 46.34%, respectively, when the PS nanoplastic concentration was 100 mg/L. This caused significant growth of M. aeruginosa with a specific growth rate up to 0.41 d?1 (50 mg/L PS nanoplastics). After a brief period of rapid growth, the tested algal cells steadily grew. In addition, the increase in PS nanoplastics concentration promoted the production and release of MC. When the PS nanoplastic concentration was 100 mg/L, the content of the intracellular (intra-) and extracellular (extra-) MC increased to 199.1 and 166.5 μg/L, respectively, on day 26, which was 31.4% and 31.1% higher, respectively, than the control. Our results provide insights into the action mechanism of nanoplastics on harmful algae and the potential risks to freshwater environments.
To examine pesticide mixture toxicity to aqueous organisms, we assessed the single and combined toxicities of thiamethoxam and other four pesticides (chlorpyrifos, beta-cypermethrin, tetraconazole, and azoxystrobin) to the rare minnow (Gobiocypris rarus). Data from 96-h semi-static toxicity assays of various developmental phases (embryonic, larval, juvenile, and adult phases) showed that beta-cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos, and azoxystrobin had the highest toxicities to G. rarus, and their LC50 values ranged from 0.0031 to 0.86 mg a.i. L?1, from 0.016 to 6.38 mg a.i. L?1, and from 0.39 to 1.08 mg a.i. L?1, respectively. Tetraconazole displayed a comparatively high toxicity, and its LC50 values ranged from 3.48 to 16.73 mg a.i. L?1. By contrast, thiamethoxam exhibited the lowest toxic effect with LC50 values ranging from 37.85 to 351.9 mg a.i. L?1. Rare minnow larvae were more sensitive than embryos to all the pesticides tested. Our data showed that a pesticide mixture of thiamethoxam–tetraconazole elicited synergetic toxicity to G. rarus. Moreover, pesticide mixtures containing beta-cypermethrin in combination with chlorpyrifos or tetraconazole also had synergetic toxicities to fish. The majority of pesticides are presumed to have additive toxicity, while our data emphasized that the concurrent existence of some chemicals in the aqueous circumstance could cause synergetic toxic effect, leading to severe loss to the aqueous environments in comparison with their single toxicities. Thence, the synergetic impacts of chemical mixtures should be considered when assessing the ecological risk of chemicals.
TiO2 nanomaterial is promising with its high potential and outstanding performance in photocatalytic environmental applications, such as CO2 conversion, water treatment, and air quality control. For many of these applications, the particle size, crystal structure and phase, porosity, and surface area influence the activity of TiO2 dramatically. TiO2 nanomaterials with special structures and morphologies, such as nanospheres, nanowires, nanotubes, nanorods, and nanoflowers are thus synthesized due to their desired characteristics. With an emphasis on the different morphologies of TiO2 and the influence factors in the synthesis, this review summarizes fourteen TiO2 preparation methods, such as the sol-gel method, solvothermal method, and reverse micelle method. The TiO2 formation mechanisms, the advantages and disadvantages of the preparation methods, and the photocatalytic environmental application examples are proposed as well. 相似文献
Cyclodextrins (CDs), with hydrophobic interior cavity and hydrophilic external surface, are capable of accelerating or inhibiting chemical degradation of organophosphorus pesticides through forming inclusion complexes between CDs and pesticides. This work evaluated the effects of CDs on hydrolysis of malathion in an attempt to assess their potential application in environmental approach. β-CD and its two derivatives, randomly methylated β-CD (RAMEB) and hydroxypropyl β-CD (HP-β-CD), were tested. It was found that RAMEB could inhibit the hydrolysis of malathion, and this was the function of pH and temperature, the inhibitory effects increase with increasing concentration of RAMEB and elevating temperature between 15 and 35℃. On the other hand, β-CD and HP-β-CD have little or no stabilizing effects on malathion at all pH and temperature studied, except that the large concentration of β-CD and HP- β-CD can mildly reduce hydrolysis of malathion. Both 2 mol/L and 5 mol/L urea increase the inhibitory effects of RAMEB on hydrolysis of malathion at 25℃, oH 9.0. 相似文献