Ecotoxicological screening of UV-filters using a battery of marine bioassays

The present study aimed to assess the toxicity of seven UV-filters: zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO, particle size <100 nm), titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO(2), primary particle size 21 nm), 2-ethylhexyl-4-methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC), avobenzone (AVO), octocrylene (OCTO) and benzophenone-3 (BP-3) on three species: Aliivibrio fischeri (inhibition of bioluminescence), Phaeodactylum tricornutum (growth inhibition) and Ficopomatus enigmaticus (larval development success). Results showed nTiO(2) to be the most toxic for P. tricornutum (EC50 0.043 mg L-1), while no effect was observed in A. fischeri and F. enigmaticus. EHMC was the most toxic to A. fischeri (EC 50 0.868 mg L-1 (15 min) and 1.06 mg L-1 (30 min)) and the second most toxic to P. tricornutum. For F. enigmaticus, the lowest percentages of correct development resulted from 4-MBC exposure, with EC50 of 0.836 mg L-1. Overall, AVO induced low toxicity to every assessed species and OCTO was the least toxic for F. enigmaticus larvae. Considering the results obtained for F. enigmaticus, further larval development assays were performed with nZnO and EHMC under different light (light vs darkness) and temperature (20 and 25 degrees C) conditions, showing higher percentages of correct development at 25 degrees C, independently on light/darkness conditions. Under different temperature and photoperiod conditions, nZnO was more toxic than EHMC. Overall, nZnO and EHMC were among the most toxic UV filters tested and, when testing the effects of these UV-filters with temperature the results highlight that the impacts are liable to be lessened at higher temperatures (25 degrees C compared with 20 degrees C), in the case of this estuarine polychaete species. Nevertheless, further experiments are necessary to describe the effects of these two UV-filters at different organization levels, to study the toxicity of eventual degradation by-products and to provide more information on the combination of different stressors.

Automated summary

This study assessed the toxicity of seven UV filters on three species, with zinc oxide nanoparticles and 2-ethylhexyl-4-methoxycinnamate being the most toxic. Temperature was shown to have an influence on the toxicity of these filters.