Attenuation of Microbial Stress Due to Nano-Ag and Nano-TiO2 Interactions under Dark Conditions

Carolyn M. Wilke, Tiezheng Tong, Jean François Gaillard*, Kimberly A. Gray

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Scopus citations

Abstract

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are incorporated into thousands of commercial products, and their release into environmental systems creates complex mixtures with unknown toxicological outcomes. To explore this scenario, we probe the chemical and toxicological interactions of nanosilver (n-Ag) and nanotitania (n-TiO2) in Lake Michigan water, a natural aqueous medium, under dark conditions. We find that the presence of n-Ag induces a stress response in Escherichia coli, as indicated by a decrease in ATP production observed at low concentrations (in the μg L-1 range), with levels that are environmentally relevant. However, when n-Ag and n-TiO2 are present together in a mixture, n-TiO2 attenuates the toxicity of n-Ag at and below 20 μg L-1 by adsorbing Ag+(aq). We observe, however, that toxic stress cannot be explained by dissolved silver concentrations alone and, therefore, must also depend on silver associated with the nanoscale fraction. Although the attenuating effect of n-TiO2 on n-Ag's toxicity is limited, this study emphasizes the importance of probing the toxicity of ENM mixtures under environmental conditions to assess how chemical interactions between nanoparticles change the toxicological effects of single ENMs in unexpected ways.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)11302-11310
Number of pages9
JournalEnvironmental Science and Technology
Volume50
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 18 2016

Funding

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (grant no. CBET-1067751 to K.A.G. and J.-F.G., and GRFP fellowship to C.M.W). This work made use of the EPIC facility (NUANCE Center, Northwestern University), which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF NNCI-1542205); the MRSEC program (NSF DMR- 1121262) at the Materials Research Center; the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); and the State of Illinois through the IIN.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Environmental Chemistry

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