Dissolved organic matter and aluminum oxide nanoparticles synergistically cause cellular responses in freshwater microalgae

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the impact of dissolved organic matters (DOM) on the ecological toxicity of aluminum oxide nanoparticles (Al₂O₃NPs) at a relatively low exposure concentration (1 mg L⁻¹). The unicellular green alga Scenedesmus obliquus was exposed to Al₂O₃NP suspensions in the presence of DOM (fulvic acid) at various concentrations (1, 10, and 40 mg L⁻¹). The results show that the presence of DOM elevated the growth inhibition toxicity of Al₂O₃NPs towards S. obliquus in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the combination of DOM at 40 mg L⁻¹ and Al₂O₃NPs resulted in a synergistic effect. The relative contribution of Al-ions released from Al₂O₃NPs to toxicity was lower than 5%, indicating that the presence of the particles instead of the dissolved ions in the suspensions was the major toxicity sources, regardless of the presence of DOM. Furthermore, DOM at 10 and 40 mg L⁻¹ and Al₂O₃NPs synergistically induced the upregulation of intercellular reactive oxygen species levels and superoxide dismutase activities. Analysis of the plasma malondialdehyde concentrations and the observation of superficial structures of S. obliquus indicated that the mixtures of DOM and Al₂O₃NPs showed no significant effect on membrane lipid peroxidation damage. In addition, the presence of both DOM and Al₂O₃NPs contributed to an enhancement in both the mitochondrial membrane potential and the cell membrane permeability (CMP) in S. obliquus. In particular, Al₂O₃NPs in the presence of 10 and 40 mg L⁻¹ DOM caused a greater increase in CMP compared to Al₂O₃NPs and DOM alone treatments. In conclusion, these findings suggest that DOM at high concentrations and Al₂O₃NPs synergistically interrupted cell membrane functions and triggered subsequent growth inhibition toxicity.

KEYWORDS:

• Nanoceramics
• ecotoxicity
• dissolved organic matters
• algae
• cellular responses

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41601519 and 21407080) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20150891). We also thank the anonymous reviewers for helping to improve the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41601519, 21407080) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20150891).