Salinity influences on the uptake of silver nanoparticles and silver nitrate by marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma)

With increasing use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), concerns about their potential deleterious effects on aquatic ecosystems have increased. Most previous studies have focused on the toxicity of AgNPs while their bioavailability has been seldom investigated. The present study examined the effects of salinity on the aggregation kinetics as well as the bioavailability of commercial 80-nm citrate-coated AgNPs (c-AgNPs) in the presence or absence of a nonionic surfactant (Tween 20) to marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma). In addition, the uptake of soluble Ag was quantified for comparison and for deducting the uptake of soluble Ag during AgNP exposure by applying a biokinetic model. The authors found that the addition of Tween 20 immediately slowed down the process of aggregation of AgNPs, and an elevated amount of Tween 20 (20 mu M) kept AgNPs well dispersed, even in the 30-psu salinity medium. Uptake rate constants (k(u)) of AgNPs were less than half the soluble Ag at low salinities (1 psu and 5 psu), while limited bioavailability of c-AgNPs was observed at high salinities (15 psu and 30 psu). However, the Tween 20-stabilized AgNPs (t-AgNPs) were accumulated by medaka at comparable rates as the soluble Ag, indicating the importance of dispersion for bioavailability of AgNPs in a highly ionic environment. The present study provided the first insight of the bioavailability of AgNPs to fish in a high-ionic environment. More studies are needed to gain a full understanding of bioavailability of AgNPs in marine environments. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:632-640. (c) 2013 SETAC