Effects of undissociated SiO2 and TiO2 nano-particles on molting of Daphnia pulex: Comparing with dissociated ZnO nano particles

The toxic effects of different nanoparticles (NPs) have been reported to be quite different. The present study exposed Daphnia pulex to undissociated TiO2 NPs and SiO2 NPs, and dissociated ZnO NPs. The acute toxicity of the three oxide NPs and their influence on D. pulex molting, as well as the expressions of genes related to molting, energy metabolism and genetic material expression were compared. The results showed that the toxicities of TiO2 NPs and SiO2 NPs to D. pulex were weaker than ZnO NPs. During the exposure period, agglomerates of undissociated TiO2 NPs and SiO2 NPs influenced movements of D. pulex, and induced their molting after attaching to the body surface. Meanwhile, gene expressions of molting (eip) and energy metabolism (scot and idh) were up-regulated. Therefore, we inferred that the adhering to the surface of daphnids, promoting their molting and improving their energy metabolism may be parts of the toxicity mechanisms of undissociated NPs to D. pulex. On the contrary, dissociated ZnO NPs inhibited molting and gene expressions of eip, scot and idh, which showed a similar trend as bulk ZnO and ZnSO4.7H2O under the low-dose exposure condition. This indicates that the toxic effects of dissociated ZnO NPs were primarily caused by released Zn ions. The results provided direct evidence about the effect of nanoparticles on molting and revealed that the toxicity mechanisms of dissociated NPs were different from undissociated NPs.

Automated summary

The study found that undissociated TiO2 NPs and SiO2 NPs had weaker toxicity to Daphnia pulex, primarily exerting their toxic effects by promoting molting and improving energy metabolism. In contrast, dissociated ZnO NPs mainly caused toxicity by releasing Zn ions, inhibiting molting and gene expressions. The results suggest that the toxic mechanisms of dissociated NPs differ from undissociated NPs.