Sivakumar Manikandan, Dhinakarasamy Inbakandan, Chakraborty Subham, Clements Clarita, Thirumurugan Naren Kumar, Chandrasekar Anu, Vinayagam Jeevitha, Kumar Chandrasekar, Thirugnanasambandam Rajendar, Kumar V Ramesh, Chandrasekaran Valli Nachiyar
Centre for Ocean Research (MoES - Earth Science & Technology Cell), Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
National Facility for Coastal and Marine Research, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Nanotoxicology. 2025 Mar;19(2):156-179. doi: 10.1080/17435390.2025.2454267. Epub 2025 Jan 30.
The widespread utilization of titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiONPs) in various industrial applications has raised concerns about their potential ecological risks in marine environment. Assessing the toxicity of TiONPs on primary producers is essential to understand their impact on marine ecosystem. This study investigates the acute toxicity effect of TiONPs on COR-A3 cells, focusing on structural and physiological changes that can compromise algal viability and ecological function. Cells were exposed to TiONPs concentration of 10-50 mg/L and assessments were conducted over 96 h to evaluate cell viability, biochemical composition, photo-physiology, oxidative stress and morphological deformations. At 50 mg/L concentration, cell viability was significantly reduced by 73.42 ± 3.46% and subsequent decrease of 42.8%, 29.2%, 44.2% in carbohydrate, protein and lipid content were observed. TiONPs exposure elevates the reactive oxygen species production and thereby impairing the photosystem II efficiency and disrupting the cellular metabolism. Morphological analysis revealed significant cell membrane disruption and plasmolysis. These cascading effects reveal TiONPs ability to interfere with algal physiological process, potentially affecting the primary productivity in marine ecosystem. Our findings highlight the ecological risk associated with the TiONPs, emphasizing the need for regulatory measures to mitigate the nanoparticle pollution in aquatic environment. This study provides more insights on the TiONPs induced toxicity in marine microalgae by altering the photosynthetic performance and biochemical integrity.
氧化钛纳米颗粒（TiONPs）在各种工业应用中的广泛使用引发了人们对其在海洋环境中潜在生态风险的担忧。评估TiONPs对初级生产者的毒性对于了解它们对海洋生态系统的影响至关重要。本研究调查了TiONPs对COR-A3细胞的急性毒性作用，重点关注可能损害藻类活力和生态功能的结构和生理变化。将细胞暴露于浓度为10 - 50 mg/L的TiONPs中，并在96小时内进行评估，以评估细胞活力、生化组成、光生理学、氧化应激和形态变形。在50 mg/L浓度下，细胞活力显著降低了73.42±3.46%，随后观察到碳水化合物、蛋白质和脂质含量分别下降了42.8%、29.2%和44.2%。暴露于TiONPs会提高活性氧的产生，从而损害光系统II的效率并扰乱细胞代谢。形态学分析显示细胞膜明显破坏和质壁分离。这些连锁反应揭示了TiONPs干扰藻类生理过程的能力，可能影响海洋生态系统的初级生产力。我们的研究结果突出了与TiONPs相关的生态风险，强调需要采取监管措施来减轻水生环境中的纳米颗粒污染。本研究通过改变光合性能和生化完整性，为TiONPs对海洋微藻的毒性作用提供了更多见解。
