Application of nanoparticle tracking analysis for characterising the fate of engineered nanoparticles in sediment-water systems

Novel applications of nanotechnology may lead to the release of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs), which result in concerns over their potential environmental hazardous impact. It is essential for the research workers to be able to quantitatively characterise ENPs in the environment and subsequently to assist the risk assessment of the ENPs. This study hence explored the application of nanoparticle tracking system (NTA) to quantitatively describe the behaviour of the ENPs in natural sediment-water systems. The NTA allows the measurement of both particle number concentration (PNC) and particle size distribution (PSD) of the ENPs. The developed NTA method was applied to a range of gold and magnetite ENPs with a selection of surface properties. The results showed that the positively-charged ENPs interacted more strongly with the sediment than neutral and negatively-charged ENPs. It was also found that the citrate coated Au ENPs had a higher distribution percentage (53%) than 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid coated Au ENPs (20%) and citrate coated magnetite ENPs (21%). The principles of the electrostatic interactions between hard (and soft) acids and bases (HSAB) are used to explain such behaviours; the hard base coating (i.e. citrate ions) will interact more strongly with hard acid (i.e. magnetite) than soft acid (i.e. gold). The results indicate that NTA is a complementary method to existing approaches to characterise the fate and behaviour of ENPs in natural sediment.     

Effects of TiO2 nanoparticles on the aquatic plant Spirodela polyrrhiza: Evaluation of growth parameters, pigment contents and antioxidant enzyme activities

Plants are essential components of all ecosystems and play a critical role in environmental fate of nanoparticles. However, the toxicological impacts of nanoparticles on plants are not well documented. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂-NPs) are produced worldwide in large quantities for a wide range of purposes. In the present study, the uptake of TiO₂-NPs by the aquatic plant Spirodela polyrrhiza and the consequent effects on the plant were evaluated. Initially, structural and morphological characteristics of the used TiO₂-NPs were determined using XRD, SEM, TEM and BET techniques. As a result, an anatase structure with the average crystalline size of 8nm was confirmed for the synthesized TiO₂-NPs. Subsequently, entrance of TiO₂-NP_S to plant roots was verified by fluorescence microscopic images. Activity of a number of antioxidant enzymes, as well as, changes in growth parameters and photosynthetic pigment contents as physiological indices were assessed to investigate the effects of TiO₂-NPs on S. polyrrhiza. The increasing concentration of TiO₂-NPs led to the significant decrease in all of the growth parameters and changes in antioxidant enzyme activities. The activity of superoxide dismutase enhanced significantly by the increasing concentration of TiO₂-NPs. Enhancement of superoxide dismutase activity could be explained as promoting antioxidant system to scavenging the reactive oxygen species. In contrast, the activity of peroxidase was notably decreased in the treated plants. Reduced peroxidase activity could be attributed to either direct effect of these particles on the molecular structure of the enzyme or plant defense system damage due to reactive oxygen species.     

Impact of density of coating agent on antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticle impregnated plasma treated activated carbon

To use stabilized nanoparticles(NPs) in water as disinfectants over a very long period, the amount of coating agent(for NP stabilization) needs to be optimized. To this end, silver nanoparticles(Ag-NPs) with two different coating densities of tri-sodium citrate(12.05 and46.17 molecules/nm~2, respectively), yet of very similar particle size(29 and 27 nm, respectively)were synthesized. Both sets of citrate capped NPs were then separately impregnated on plasma treated activated carbon(AC), with similar Ag loading of 0.8 and 0.82 wt.%, respectively. On passing contaminated water(containing 10~4 CFU Escherichia coli/m L of water) through a continuous flow-column packed with Ag/AC, zero cell concentration was achieved in 22 and 39 min, with Ag-NPs(impregnated on AC, named as Ag/AC) having lower and higher coating density, respectively. Therefore, even on ensuring similar Ag-NP size and loading, there is a significant difference in antibacterial performance based on citrate coating density in Ag/AC.This is observed in lower coating density case, due to both:(i) higher Ag~+ ion release from Ag-NP and(ii) stronger binding of individual Ag-NPs on AC. The latter ensures that, Ag-NP does not detach from the AC surface for a long duration. TGA-DSC shows that Ag-NPs with a low coating density bind to AC with 4.55 times higher adsorption energy, compared to Ag/AC with a high coating density, implying stronger binding. Therefore, coating density is an important parameter for achieving higher antibacterial efficacy, translating into a faster decontamination rate in experiments, over a long period of flow-column operation.     

纳米银对胶州湾西北部海区及河口区沉积物反硝化能力和功能基因丰度的影响

在胶州湾西北部海区和大沽河河口区选择S站和E站2个研究站位,现场采样带回实验室进行模拟培养,研究纳米银对沉积物反硝化能力、反硝化酶活性及功能基因丰度的影响.将不同剂量(0、135、1 350 mg·L~(-1))的纳米银添加至由表层沉积物和原位底层海水组成的培养体系中培养6 d,测定其在不同时间内NO_3~-和NO_2~-含量、NO_3~-还原酶和NO_2~-还原酶活性、反硝化功能基因narG和nirS相对丰度的变化,探讨纳米银对不同区域沉积物反硝化过程的影响和可能的作用途径.结果表明,纳米银胁迫对2个站位沉积物NO_3~-和NO_2~-的还原能力、NO_3~-和NO_2~-还原酶活性及narG和nirS的基因丰度均具有明显的抑制效应,纳米银浓度越高,抑制程度越强,并会导致NO_2~-累积量的增加;纳米银对NO_2~-还原酶的抑制程度明显大于NO_3~-还原酶,对功能基因nirS的抑制程度明显大于narG;纳米银胁迫对NO_3~-还原过程的影响主要通过对功能基因的抑制作用,而对NO_2~-还原过程的影响主要是通过对还原酶活性的抑制作用;纳米银对胶州湾西北部海域反硝化能力、NO_3~-还原酶和基因丰度的抑制程度大于大沽河河口区.     

超声辅助纳米铁降解酸性红G的实验研究

通过硼氢化纳还原法制备了铁纳米颗粒,并用十二烷基硫酸钠对其进行保护。所得铁纳米颗粒大小在13nm左右,体心立方相。对比了在机械搅拌和超声辅助条件下纳米铁对酸性红G的降解率,超声条件下纳米铁和微米铁对酸性红G的降解率,以及纳米铁投加量、pH值对酸性红G降解率的影响。结果表明,超声辅助下,pH=6～7时,4min内纳米铁对酸性红G有较高的降解率。机理分析表明超声辅助条件下纳米铁对酸性红G的降解主要是超声分散下纳米铁的还原作用得到提高以及纳米铁氧化产物的絮凝作用。     

西南地区近60年商品材消耗和经济增长关系

首次定义和使用了"GDP黄金当量"作为经济全球化背景下经济增长的新指标。"GDP黄金当量"是指把历年GDP总量按年均汇价和国际黄金市场年均价换算成黄金重量,其可在一定程度上绕开纸币的贬值或升值,反映GDP的贵金属本质,把资源消耗和经济增长的关系分析转变成物物关系分析。研究资源消耗和经济增长的关系有助于提高资源使用效率和调整经济发展方式。通过分析西南地区1949年以来历年商品材产量、人口数量、GDP总量、GDP黄金当量及其单位木材能耗之间的关系,检验了近现代资源环境与经济发展关系中的"资源诅咒"和"库兹涅茨曲线"假设,结果表明:①1952—2008年GDP总量增长了422倍,人口增长了1倍,GDP黄金当量增加了4.5倍,商品材产量增加了12倍;②商品材产量1997—2000年因天然林保护工程下降了80%,然而2008年的946×104m3又恢复到了天然林保护工程前的水平,总体上增长趋势未变;③经济发展出现3个GDP黄金当量"平台",目前处在第3个"平台"上,GDP黄金当量和商品材产量仅前20 a成线性相关(P0.01);④商品材产量和人口数量之间线性相关显著(P0.01),GDP黄金当量和人口数量之间非参数相关显著(P=0.005),人均GDP增长了162倍,人均GDP黄金当量只增长了1.5倍,商品材产量和人均GDP(或人均GDP黄金当量)之间不存在环境库兹涅茨曲线关系,也不存在森林资源诅咒经济增长现象;⑤每万元GDP或每kg GDP黄金当量的商品材消耗量先增加后减少,呈现倒"U"曲线走势,经济发展走过了劳动和森林资源密集型时期。     

Effects of silica nanoparticles on growth and photosynthetic pigment contents of Scenedesmus obliquus

To assess the aquatic ecosystem safety for silica (SiO2) nanoparticles (NPs), the growth inhibition and photosynthetic pigment contents of Scenedesmus obliquus in logarithm growth phase exposed to SiO2 NPs and SiO2 bulk particles (BPs) suspensions were measured. SiO2 NPs with 10-20 nm diameters were found to be toxic. The 20% effective concentration (EC20) values for 72 and 96 hr were 388.1 and 216.5 mg/L, respectively. The contents of chlorophyll decreased significantly under moderate and high concentratio...     

Genotoxicity of ferric oxide nanoparticles in Raphanus sativus: Deciphering the role of signaling factors, oxidative stress and cell death

We have studied the genotoxic and apoptotic potential of ferric oxide nanoparticles(Fe_2O_3-NPs) in Raphanus sativus(radish).Fe_2O_3-NPs retarded the root length and seed germination in radish.Ultrathin sections of treated roots showed subcellular localization of Fe_2O_3-NPs,along with the appearance of damaged mitochondria and excessive vacuolization.Flow cytometric analysis of Fe_2O_3-NPs(1.0 mg/m L) treated groups exhibited 219.5%,161%,120.4% and 161.4% increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS),mitochondrial membrane potential(ΔΨm),nitric oxide(NO) and Ca2+influx in radish protoplasts.A concentration dependent increase in the antioxidative enzymes glutathione(GSH),catalase(CAT),superoxide dismutase(SOD) and lipid peroxidation(LPO) has been recorded.Comet assay showed a concentration dependent increase in deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA) strand breaks in Fe_2O_3-NPs treated groups.Cell cycle analysis revealed 88.4% of cells in sub-G1 apoptotic phase,suggesting cell death in Fe_2O_3-NPs(2.0 mg/m L) treated group.Taking together,the genotoxicity induced by Fe_2O_3-NPs highlights the importance of environmental risk associated with improper disposal of nanoparticles(NPs) and radish can serve as a good indicator for measuring the phytotoxicity of NPs grown in NP-polluted environment.     

Experimental investigation of performance and emission characteristics of diesel engine using Jatropha biodiesel with alumina nanoparticles

Biodiesels have come up as a very strong alternative for diesel fuel. Biodiesels such as Jatropha Oil Methyl Ester (JOME) are comparable in performance with that of the diesel engine. The thermal efficiency of engines fuelled with biodiesels was found lower than conventional diesel fuel but due to the bio-origin, the emission characteristics are much better. However, biodiesel increases the NOx emissions as these are rich in oxygen, hence nanoparticles are used in this experiment to curb the high temperatures and reduce the NOx formation. The experiment on naturally aspired diesel engine was conducted with four prepared test fuels other than neat diesel and neat biodiesel. The 50 and 150 of alumina nanoparticles were added separately to the pure diesel and pure Jatropha biodiesel to form the nano emulsions using ultrasonicator. The properties of nanoemulsion were evaluated using dynamic light scattering technique using zetasizer. The performance and emission characteristics of multi-cylinder diesel engine with these nanoemulsions were compared with that of neat fuels. The results showed that using nanoparticles with diesel and biodiesel can contribute in a more efficient, economical, and eco-friendly engine operation.     

两种粒径氧化镍纳米颗粒对小球藻(Chlorella vulgaris)的生物毒性

采用藻类生物毒性测试方法(OECD201)研究了两种粒径氧化镍(NiO)纳米颗粒对小球藻(Chlorella vulgaris)的生物毒性.发现纳米颗粒的毒性与其尺度有关,7 nm NiO的毒性大于20 nm NiO,二者72 h EC50分别为18.01和74.64mgNiO/L.利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)观察了对...