Environmentally relevant concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticles pose negligible risk to marine microbes.

ABSTRACT: Nano-sized titanium dioxide (nTiO₂) represents the highest produced nanomaterial by mass worldwide and, due to its prevalent industrial and commercial use, it inevitably reaches the natural environment. Previous work has revealed a negative impact of nTiO₂ upon marine phytoplankton growth, however, studies are typically carried out at concentrations far exceeding those measured and predicted to occur in the environment currently. Here, a series of experiments were carried out to assess the effects of both research-grade nTiO₂ and nTiO₂ extracted from consumer products upon the marine dominant cyanobacterium, Prochlorococcus, and natural marine communities at environmentally relevant and supra-environmental concentrations (i.e., 1 μg

SUBMITTER: Dedman CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8136324 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature