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Although sediment is generally considered to be the major sink for nanomaterials in aquatic environments, few studies have addressed the ecotoxicity of nanomaterials in the presence of sediment. In the present study, the ecotoxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with a range of organic coatings was examined in a freshwater sediment-dwelling organism, Chironomus riparius, using acute and chronic ecotoxicity endpoints, including molecular indicators. The toxicity of AgNPs coated with different organic materials, such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, gum arabic, and citrate, to C. riparius was compared with that of bare-AgNPs and AgNO3 (ionic silver). Total silver concentration was also measured to monitor the behavior of the AgNPs in water and sediment and to determine how ion dissolution affects the toxicity of all AgNPs. The coated- and bare-AgNPs caused DNA damage and oxidative stress-related gene expression. In addition, the bare-AgNPs and AgNO3 had a significant effect on development and reproduction. The surface coatings generally mitigated the toxicity of AgNPs to C. riparius, which can be explained by the reduced number of ions released from coated-AgNPs. Citrate-AgNPs caused the most significant alteration at the molecular level, but this did not translate to higher-level effects. Finally, comparing previously conducted studies on AgNP-induced gene expression without sediments, the authors show that the presence of sediment appears to mitigate the toxicity of AgNPs., (© 2015 SETAC.)

The use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in consumer products and industrial applications, as well as their recent detection in waste streams, has created concern about potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems. The effect of complex environmental media on AgNP toxicity was investigated using wetland mesocosms and smaller scale microcosms. Mesocosms were dosed with 2.5 mg Ag/L as gum arabic (GA)-coated AgNPs, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-coated AgNPs, or AgNO3. Water samples were taken from mesocosms 24 h after dosing for acute toxicity tests with embryos and larvae of Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Acute toxicity tests were also performed on Atlantic killifish with AgNO3, GA AgNPs, and PVP AgNPs prepared in the laboratory with similar water. For killifish embryos, mesocosm samples were much less toxic than laboratory samples for all types of silver. For larvae, in contrast, all 3 silver mesocosm treatments exhibited toxicity. Interestingly, mesocosm samples of AgNO3 were less toxic than laboratory samples; samples containing GA AgNPs were similar in toxicity, and samples containing PVP AgNPs were more toxic. For C. elegans, results were similar to killifish larvae. Results obtained from the mesocosms were not replicated on the smaller scale of the microcosms. These results indicate that environmental factors unique to the mesocosms acted differentially on AgNO3 to reduce its toxicity in a manner that does not translate to AgNPs for larval fish., (© 2014 SETAC.)