Investigation of acute toxicity, accumulation, and depuration of ZnO nanoparticles in Daphnia magna

Size is a key factor controlling the rate of dissolution of nanoparticles, such property can be explored for producing controlled release fertilizers. Hence, one can expect the increasing discharge of nanoparticles closer to water streams in the near future. In this study, we employed the model fresh water organism Daphnia magna to investigate the uptake, acute toxicity and depuration of ZnO nanoparticles. The present study shows that the median lethal concentration (LC50) depended on particle size and the presence of surfactant. The LC50 for positive control ZnSO4 (2.15 mg L-1), 20 nm ZnO (1.68 mg L-1), and 40 nm ZnO (1.71 mg L-1) were statistically the same. However, the addition of surfactant increased the LC50 of 40 nm and 60 nm to 2.93 and 3.24 mg L-1, respectively. The 300 nm ZnO was the least toxic nanoparticle presenting LC50 of 6.35 mg L-1. X-ray fluorescence chemical imaging revealed that Zn accumulated along the digestive system regardless the particle size. Finally, contrary to what have been reported by several papers, the present study did not detect any depuration of ZnO nanoparticles in the next 24 h past the exposure assays. Thus, the ability of organisms to expel ingested nanomaterials might be dependent on specific physical-chemical features of such nanomaterials.

Automated summary

This study investigated the uptake, acute toxicity, and depuration of ZnO nanoparticles using the model fresh water organism Daphnia magna. The results showed that the toxicity of the nanoparticles depended on their size and the presence of surfactant. Contrary to previous reports, the study did not detect any depuration of ZnO nanoparticles after exposure.