Effects of surface-engineered nanoparticle-based dispersants for marine oil spills on the model organism Artemia franciscana.
Fine particles are under active consideration as alternatives to chemical dispersants for large-scale petroleum spills. Fine carbon particles with engineered surface chemistry have been shown to stabilize oil-in-water emulsions, but the environmental impacts of large-scale particle introduction to the marine environment are unknown. Here we study the impact of surface-engineered carbon-black materials on brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) as a model marine microcrustacean. Mortality was characterized at 50-1000 mg/L, and levels of heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) were characterized at sublethal particle concentrations (25-50 mg/L). Functionalized carbon black (CB) nanoparticles were found to be nontoxic at all concentrations, while hydrophobic (annealed) and as-produced CB induced adverse effects at high concentrations. CB was also shown to adsorb benzene, a model hydrocarbon representing the more soluble and toxic low-molecular weight aromatic fraction of petroleum, but the extent of adsorption was insufficient to mitigate benzene toxicity to Artemia in coexposure experiments. At lower benzene concentrations (25-75 mg/L), coexposure with annealed and as-produced CB increased hsp70 protein levels. This study suggests that surface functionalization for increased hydrophilicity can not only improve the performance of CB-based dispersants but also reduce their adverse environmental impacts on marine organisms.
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States.
April L
AL
Rodd
Megan A
MA
Creighton
Charles A
CA
Vaslet
J Rene
JR
Rangel-Mendez
Robert H
RH
Hurt
Agnes B
AB
Kane
D000818:Animals; D001156:Artemia / Q000187:drug effects*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008422:Materials Testing; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical