Analysis, behavior and ecotoxicity of carbon-based nanomaterials in the aquatic environment

Due to their unique properties, carbon-based nanomaterials (CNMs) have attracted considerable interest in many fields of research, including materials sciences, microelectronics and biomedicine. The potential, the growing use and the mass production of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes have stimulated research on their potential impact on the environment and human health. To gather proper information about hazards of CNMs, it is important to have reliable analytical data on them, to find out how they behave in the environment and to evaluate ecotoxicological information about them. This review presents the latest research carried out to assess the risks of engineered CNMs in the aquatic environment, including analytical methods and ecotoxicity assessment. We pay special attention to the surface properties of CNMs, which are vitally important for their aggregation behavior, their mobility in aquatic systems, their interactions with aquatic organisms, and their possible entry into the food chain. We also consider interactions with natural organic matter and other interactions that can alter aggregation behavior in water. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.