Impact of carbon nanotubes on the ingestion and digestion of bacteria by ciliated protozoa.
Research on the toxicity of carbon nanotubes has focused on human health risks, and little is known about their impact on natural ecosystems. The ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila has been widely studied by ecotoxicologists because of its role in the regulation of microbial populations through the ingestion and digestion of bacteria, and because it is an important organism in wastewater treatment and an indicator of sewage effluent quality. Here we show that single-walled carbon nanotubes are internalized by T. thermophila, possibly allowing the nanotubes to move up the food chain. The internalization also causes the protozoa to aggregate, which impedes their ability to ingest and digest their prey bacteria species, although it might also be possible to use nanotubes to improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment.
Ghafari
Parnian
P
Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
St-Denis
Christine H
CH
Power
Mary E
ME
Jin
Xu
X
Tsou
Veronica
V
Mandal
Himadri S
HS
Bols
Niels C
NC
Tang
Xiaowu Shirley
XS
D000818:Animals; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000633:toxicity*; D016808:Tetrahymena thermophila / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology
D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon