Work

Toxicity of Engineered Nanoparticles in the Environment

Year: 2013

Type: review

Abstract: While nanoparticles occur naturally in the environment and have been intentionally used for centuries, the production and use of engineered nanoparticles has seen a recent spike, which makes environmental release almost certain. Therefore, recent efforts to characterize the toxicity of engineered nanoparticles have focused on the environmental implications, including exploration of toxicity to organisms from wide-ranging parts of the ecosystem food webs. Herein, we summarize the current understanding of toxicity of engineered nanoparticles to representatives of various trophic levels, including bacteria, plants, and multicellular aquatic/terrestrial organisms, to highlight important challenges within the field of econanotoxicity, challenges that analytical chemists are expertly poised to address.

Source: Analytical Chemistry

DOI: 10.1021/ac303636s

Authors: Melissa A. Maurer-Jones, Ian L. Gunsolus, Catherine J. Murphy, Christy L. Haynes

Institutions: University of Minnesota, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Language: English

Topic: Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications

Subfield: Materials Chemistry

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Clean water and sanitation

Open Access status: green