Chemicobiology and Functional Materials Institute, School of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China.
Chemicobiology and Functional Materials Institute, School of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2021 Mar 15;211:111948. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.111948. Epub 2021 Jan 25.
This study aims to assess the toxicity of the commonly-spread titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO NPs) by evaluating the exposure impact of the particles on both freshwater algae Chlorella pyrenoidosa and zebrafish liver cell line (ZFL), the two common in vitro models in toxicological studies. To compare the toxic effects of TiO NPs with different physiochemical properties, three types of manufactured TiO were used: bulk TiO, Degussa P25 TiO, and ultrafine TiO NPs. Both short and long-term biological responses of green algae, such as the effect on the cell growth rate, pigment autofluorescence, and esterase activity were investigated. The dosage, physical property of TiO particles, and their interactions with algal cells affect cellular growth, especially after short-term exposure. The hydrodynamic size plays a critical role in determining the acute toxicity to C. pyrenoidosa in terms of autofluorescence and esterase activity, while all types of TiO NPs show toxic effects after exposure for 14 days. However, this observation is not seen when studying the effect of introduced particles in ZFL, for the precipitated Degussa P25 TiO showed the highest cellular inhibition. Interestingly, despite the obvious overall toxicity toward C. pyrenoidosa, the photocatalytical properties of TiO NPs may contribute to the enhanced photosynthesis in the low concentration range (<40 µg mL). Overall, we found that the physical interactions between TiO particles and the cells, particles' size and dispersibility play critical role in the cytotoxic effect for both algal and ZFL cells, while the photocatalytical properties of TiO particles may produce mixed effects on the cytotoxicity of green algae.
本研究旨在评估常见的分散型二氧化钛纳米颗粒（TiO NPs）的毒性，通过评估颗粒对淡水藻类衣藻（Chlorella pyrenoidosa）和斑马鱼肝细胞系（ZFL）的暴露影响来实现，这两种细胞系是毒理学研究中常用的两种体外模型。为了比较具有不同物理化学性质的 TiO NPs 的毒性效应，使用了三种类型的制造 TiO：体相 TiO、Degussa P25 TiO 和超细 TiO NPs。研究了绿藻的短期和长期生物反应，如对细胞生长速率、色素自发荧光和酯酶活性的影响。TiO 颗粒的剂量、物理性质及其与藻类细胞的相互作用会影响细胞生长，尤其是在短期暴露后。水动力粒径在决定 TiO NPs 对衣藻的急性毒性方面起着关键作用，特别是在自发荧光和酯酶活性方面，而所有类型的 TiO NPs 在暴露 14 天后都表现出毒性效应。然而，在研究引入的颗粒对 ZFL 的影响时，并未观察到这种情况，因为沉淀的 Degussa P25 TiO 表现出最高的细胞抑制作用。有趣的是，尽管 TiO NPs 对衣藻表现出明显的整体毒性，但 TiO NPs 的光催化特性可能有助于在低浓度范围（<40μg mL）下增强光合作用。总体而言，我们发现 TiO 颗粒与细胞之间的物理相互作用、颗粒的大小和分散性对藻类和 ZFL 细胞的细胞毒性效应起着关键作用，而 TiO 颗粒的光催化特性可能对绿藻的细胞毒性产生混合效应。
