The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Portrait of Tommy Cedervall; Photo: Kennet Ruona

Tommy Cedervall

Associate Professor, Coordinator Nanosafety

Portrait of Tommy Cedervall; Photo: Kennet Ruona

Disaggregation of gold nanoparticles by Daphnia magna

Author

  • Karin Mattsson
  • Ruben Aguilar
  • Oscar Torstensson
  • Diana Perry
  • Katja Bernfur
  • Sara Linse
  • Lars Anders Hansson
  • Karin S. Åkerfeldt
  • Tommy Cedervall

Summary, in English

The use of manufactured nanomaterials is rapidly increasing, while our understanding of the consequences of releasing these materials into the environment is still limited and many questions remain, for example, how do nanoparticles affect living organisms in the wild? How do organisms adapt and protect themselves from exposure to foreign materials? How does the environment affect the performance of nanoparticles, including their surface properties? In an effort to address these crucial questions, our main aim has been to probe the effects of aquatic organisms on nanoparticle aggregation. We have, therefore, carried out a systematic study with the purpose to disentangle the effects of the freshwater zooplankter, Daphnia magna, on the surface properties, stability, and aggregation properties of gold (Au) nanoparticles under different aqueous conditions as well as identified the proteins bound to the nanoparticle surface. We show that Au nanoparticles aggregate in pure tap water, but to a lesser extent in water that either contains Daphnia or has been pre-conditioned with Daphnia. Moreover, we show that proteins generated by Daphnia bind to the Au nanoparticles and create a modified surface that renders them less prone to aggregation. We conclude that the surrounding milieu, as well as the surface properties of the original Au particles, are important factors in determining how the nanoparticles are affected by biological metabolism. In a broader context, our results show how nanoparticles released into a natural ecosystem become chemically and physically altered through the dynamic interactions between particles and organisms, either through biological metabolism or through the interactions with biomolecules excreted by organisms into the environment.

Department/s

  • Biochemistry and Structural Biology
  • NanoLund: Center for Nanoscience
  • MultiPark: Multidisciplinary research focused on Parkinson´s disease
  • Division aquatic ecology
  • Aquatic Ecology

Publishing year

2018-09-14

Language

English

Pages

885-900

Publication/Series

Nanotoxicology

Volume

12

Issue

8

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Informa Healthcare

Topic

  • Other Chemistry Topics

Keywords

  • aggregation
  • Daphnia magna
  • gold
  • mass spectrometry
  • nanoparticles
  • protein corona

Status

Published

Research group

  • Aquatic Ecology

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1743-5390