Characterizing the Uptake, Accumulation and Toxicity of Silver Sulfide Nanoparticles in Plants

Overview

Journal Environ Sci Nano

Publisher Royal Society of Chemistry

Date 2020 Aug 18

PMID 32802334

Citations 20

Authors

Peng Wang

Enzo Lombi

Shengkai Sun

Kirk G Scheckel

Anzhela Malysheva

Brigid A McKenna

Neal W Menzies

Fang-Jie Zhao

Peter M Kopittke

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) are used in a wide range of everyday products, leading to increasing concerns regarding their accumulation in soils and subsequent impact on plants. Using single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) and synchrotron-based techniques including X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM), we characterized the uptake, speciation, and translocation of insoluble AgS-NPs (an environmentally-relevant form of Ag-NPs in soils) within two plant species, a monocot and a dicot. Exposure to 10 mg Ag L as AgS-NPs for one week resulted in a substantial increase in leaf Ag concentrations (3.8 to 5.8 μg Ag g dry mass). Examination using XAS revealed that most of the Ag was present as AgS (>91%). Furthermore, analyses using spICP-MS confirmed that these AgS particles within the leaves had a markedly similar size distribution to those supplied within the hydroponic solution. These observations, for the first time, provide direct evidence that plants take up AgS-NPs without a marked selectivity in regard to particle size and without substantial transformation (dissolution or aggregation) during translocation from roots to shoots. Furthermore, after uptake, these AgS-NPs reduced growth, partially due to the solubilisation of Ag , which resulted in an upregulation of genes involved in the ethylene signalling pathway. Additionally, the upregulation of the plant defense system as a result of AgS-NPs exposure may have contributed to the decrease in plant growth. These results highlight the risks associated with Ag-NP accumulation in plants and subsequent trophic transfer the food chain.

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