Carbon nanotubes affect the toxicity of CuO nanoparticles to denitrification in marine sediments by altering cellular internalization of nanoparticle.
Denitrification is an important pathway for nitrate transformation in marine sediments, and this process has been observed to be negatively affected by engineered nanomaterials. However, previous studies only focused on the potential effect of a certain type of nanomaterial on microbial denitrification. Here we show that the toxicity of CuO nanoparticles (NPs) to denitrification in marine sediments is highly affected by the presence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). It was found that the removal efficiency of total NOX(-)-N (NO3(-)-N and NO2(-)-N) in the presence of CuO NPs was only 62.3%, but it increased to 81.1% when CNTs appeared in this circumstance. Our data revealed that CuO NPs were more easily attached to CNTs rather than cell surface because of the lower energy barrier (3.5 versus 36.2 kT). Further studies confirmed that the presence of CNTs caused the formation of large, incompact, non-uniform dispersed, and more negatively charged CuO-CNTs heteroaggregates, and thus reduced the nanoparticle internalization by cells, leading to less toxicity to metabolism of carbon source, generation of reduction equivalent, and activities of nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase. These results indicate that assessing nanomaterial-induced risks in real circumstances needs to consider the "mixed" effects of nanomaterials.
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
Xiong
X
Zheng
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
Yinglong
Y
Su
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
Yinguang
Y
Chen
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
Rui
R
Wan
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
Mu
M
Li
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
Haining
H
Huang
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 844 North 16th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-6105, United States.
Xu
X
Li
D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D058440:Denitrification / Q000187:drug effects*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D050901:Nitrate Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D009572:Nitrite Reductases / Q000378:metabolism
D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D002244:Carbon; D003300:Copper; D009572:Nitrite Reductases; D050901:Nitrate Reductase; C030973:cupric oxide