Plant Mediated Green Synthesis of CuO Nanoparticles: Comparison of Toxicity of Engineered and Plant Mediated CuO Nanoparticles towards Daphnia magna.
Research on green production methods for metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) is growing, with the objective to overcome the potential hazards of these chemicals for a safer environment. In this study, facile, ecofriendly synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles was successfully achieved using aqueous extract ofPterospermum acerifoliumleaves.P. acerifolium-fabricated CuO nanoparticles were further characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Plant-mediated CuO nanoparticles were found to be oval shaped and well dispersed in suspension. XPS confirmed the elemental composition ofP. acerifolium-mediated copper nanoparticles as comprised purely of copper and oxygen. DLS measurements and ion release profile showed thatP. acerifolium-mediated copper nanoparticles were more stable than the engineered CuO NPs. Copper oxide nanoparticles are used in many applications; therefore, their potential toxicity cannot be ignored. A comparative study was performed to investigate the bio-toxic impacts of plant-synthesized and engineered CuO nanoparticles on water fleaDaphnia.Experiments were conducted to investigate the 48-h acute toxicity of engineered CuO NPs and plant-synthesized nanoparticles. Lower EC50value 0.102 ± 0.019 mg/L was observed for engineered CuO NPs, while 0.69 ± 0.226 mg/L was observed for plant-synthesized CuO NPs. Additionally, ion release from CuO nanoparticles and 48-h accumulation of these nano CuOs in daphnids were also calculated. Our findings thus suggest that the contribution of released ions from nanoparticles and particles/ions accumulation inDaphnianeeds to be interpreted with care.
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. sadia.saifpk@gmail.com.|Department of Environmental Science, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan. sadia.saifpk@gmail.com.
Sadia
S
Saif
Department of Environmental Science, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan. arifa.tahir@gmail.com.
Arifa
A
Tahir
Department of Environmental Science, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan. tayyabasim2008@gmail.com.|Department of Biochemistry, Quetta Institute of Medical Science, Quetta 87300, Pakistan. tayyabasim2008@gmail.com.
Tayyaba
T
Asim
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. yongsheng.chen@ce.gatech.edu.
Yongsheng
Y
Chen
Daphnia magna; Pterospermum acerifolium; bio toxicity; copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles; green synthesis