Toxicity of environmental nanosilver: mechanism and assessment

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Nanosilver (nAg) is increasingly being used in a wide array of fields, and its toxicity has been extensively studied. Here we present a review of environmental nAg...     

Effects of silver nanoparticles with different dosing regimens and exposure media on artificial ecosystem

Due to the wide use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in various fields, it is crucial to explore the potential negative impacts on the aquatic environment of AgNPs entering into the environment in different ways. In this study, comparative experiments were conducted to investigate the toxicological impacts of polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated silver nanoparticles (PVP-AgNPs) with two kinds of dosing regimens, continuous and one-time pulsed dosing, in different exposure media (deionized water and XiangJiang River water). There were a number of quite different experimental results (including 100% mortality of zebrafish, decline in the activity of enzymes, and lowest number and length of adventitious roots) in the one-time pulsed dosing regimen at high PVP-AgNP concentration exposure (HOE) compared to the three other treatments. Meanwhile, we determined that the concentration of leached silver ions from PVP-AgNPs was too low to play a role in zebrafish death. Those results showed that HOE led to a range of dramatic ecosystem impacts which were more destructive than those of other treatments. Moreover, compared with the continuous dosing regimen, despite the fact that higher toxicity was observed for HOE, there was little difference in the removal of total silver from the aquatic environment for the different dosing regimens. No obvious differences in ecological impacts were observed between different water columns under low concentration exposure. Overall, this work highlighted the fact that the toxicity of AgNPs was impacted by different dosing regimens in different exposure media, which may be helpful for assessments of ecological impacts on aquatic environments.     

Cysteine-enhanced reductive degradation of nitrobenzene using nano-sized zero-valent iron by accelerated electron transfer

As an aliphatic amino acid, cysteine (CYS) is diffuse in the living cells of plants and animals. However, little is known of its role in the reactivity of nano-sized zero-valent iron (NZVI) in the degradation of pollutants. This study shows that the introduction of CYS to the NZVI system can help improve the efficiency of reduction, with 30% more efficient degradation and a reaction rate constant nine times higher when nitrobenzene (NB) is used as probe compound. The rates of degradation of NB were positively correlated with the range of concentrations of CYS from 0 to 10 mmol/L. The introduction of CYS increased the maximum concentration of Fe(III) by 12 times and that of Fe(II) by four times in this system. A comparison of systems featuring only CYS or Fe(II) showed that the direct reduction of NB was not the main factor influencing its CYS-stimulated removal. The reduction in the concentration of CYS was accompanied by the generation of cystine (CY, the oxidized form of cysteine), and both eventually became stable. The introduction of CY also enhanced NB degradation due to NZVI, accompanied by the regeneration of CYS. This supports the claim that CYS can accelerate electron transfer from NZVI to NB, thus enhancing the efficiency of degradation of NB.     

森林土壤固碳机理研究进展

全球碳平衡中,土壤有机碳储量为2000 Pg,植被碳储量500 Pg,大气碳储量785 Pg,土壤中有机碳变化是影响大气温室气体含量的重要因素。中国人工林总量世界第一,可以通过造林树种的选择,增加森林土壤的碳汇功能,它主要通过4种机理来实现,包括稳定性有机-矿物复合体的形成、持久性封存的深层碳的增加、耐分解有机物成份的积累、以及土壤团聚体结构中碳的物理性保护。中国近年来对木材的需求上升,导致大量短轮伐期人工林的种植,采伐、火烧炼山、施肥与整地等营林措施对土壤碳汇功能形成重大影响。因而,通过加强对中国人工林土壤固碳机理的研究,通过人为措施实现具有较强固碳能力的森林类型,从而提高人工森林生态系统的固碳能力,它对中国减排增汇战略具有重要意义,而加强对不同营林措施对碳汇功能影响的研究是中国当前面临的重大课题。