Toxicity of Ag, CuO and ZnO nanoparticles to selected environmentally relevant test organisms and mammalian cells in vitro: a critical review

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) of copper oxide (CuO), zinc oxide (ZnO) and especially nanosilver are intentionally used to fight the undesirable growth of bacteria, fungi and algae. Release of these NPs from consumer and household products into waste streams and further into the environment may, however, pose threat to the ‘non-target’ organisms, such as natural microbes and aquatic organisms. This review summarizes the recent research on (eco)toxicity of silver (Ag), CuO and ZnO NPs. Organism-wise it focuses on key test species used for the analysis of ecotoxicological hazard. For comparison, the toxic effects of studied NPs toward mammalian cells in vitro were addressed. Altogether 317 L(E)C50 or minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) values were obtained for algae, crustaceans, fish, bacteria, yeast, nematodes, protozoa and mammalian cell lines. As a rule, crustaceans, algae and fish proved most sensitive to the studied NPs. The median L(E)C50 values of Ag NPs, CuO NPs and ZnO NPs (mg/L) were 0.01, 2.1 and 2.3 for crustaceans; 0.36, 2.8 and 0.08 for algae; and 1.36, 100 and 3.0 for fish, respectively. Surprisingly, the NPs were less toxic to bacteria than to aquatic organisms: the median MIC values for bacteria were 7.1, 200 and 500 mg/L for Ag, CuO and ZnO NPs, respectively. In comparison, the respective median L(E)C50 values for mammalian cells were 11.3, 25 and 43 mg/L. Thus, the toxic range of all the three metal-containing NPs to target- and non-target organisms overlaps, indicating that the leaching of biocidal NPs from consumer products should be addressed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00204-013-1079-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Comparison of Antifungal Properties of Acrylic Resin Reinforced with ZnO and Ag Nanoparticles

“…The statistical graphs are shown in figures 4 (a, b and c). This finding is similar to other study about the antimicrobial effect of metallicoxides NPs [21][22] as the report of the median minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for bacteria were 7.1, 200 and 500 mg/L for Ag, CuO and ZnO NPs, respectively. Whenever the toxic effect of ZnO NPs on mammalians cells was less than Ag NPs, and the respective median LC50 (lethal concentration, 50%) values for these cells were 11.3, 25 and 43 mg/L.…”

Particulate and colloidal silver in sewage effluent and sludge discharged from British wastewater treatment plants

“…In the early 1990s the main demands for silver were the photographic business, catalysts, jewelry, electronics industry, brazing alloys, battery manufacture, bearings and dental/medical applications all of which generated some silver waste (Purcell and Peters, 1998;Eckelman and Graedel, 2007). There are now concerns over the discharge of engineered nanoparticulate silver into the environment (Depledge et al, 2010) particularly with the use of nanosilver in medical antimicrobial products and in some clothing products (Bondarenko et al, 2013). Recent predictions have suggested effluent discharges between 8.4 µg/cap/d with a 96% removal rate (Gottschalk et al, 2009) and 114 µg/cap/d (Blaser et al, 2008, medium risk scenario).…”

Influence of soil pH on the toxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles to the terrestrial isopod Porcellionides pruinosus

“…Because of increasing annual production over the years, NPs have been regulated by the European Commission's regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) in Europe, under the same legislation as bulk compounds, even though nano and bulk materials have different properties [2].…”