Comparative toxicity of nanoparticulate/bulk Yb2O3 and YbCl3 to cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

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• 作者：Peng Zhang ; Yuhui Ma ; Zhiyong Zhang ; Xiao He ; Zhi Guo ; Renzhong Tai ; Yayun Ding ; Yuliang Zhao ; Zhifang Chai
• 刊名：Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T)
• 出版年：2012
• 出版时间：February 7, 2012
• 年：2012
• 卷：46
• 期：3
• 页码：1834-1841
• 全文大小：388K
• 年卷期：v.46,no.3(February 7, 2012)
• ISSN：1520-5851

文摘

With the increasing utilization of nanomaterials, there is a growing concern for the potential environmental and health effects of them. To assess the environmental risks of nanomaterials, better knowledge about their fate and toxicity in plants are required. In this work, we compared the phytotoxicity of nanoparticulate Yb₂O₃, bulk Yb₂O₃, and YbCl₃路6H₂O to cucumber plants. The distribution and biotransformation of the three materials in plant roots were investigated in situ by TEM, EDS, as well as synchrotron radiation based methods: STXM and NEXAFS. The decrease of biomass was evident at the lowest concentration (0.32 mg/L) when exposed to nano-Yb₂O₃, while at the highest concentration, the most severe inhibition was from YbCl₃. The inhibition was dependent on the actual amount of toxic Yb uptake by the cucumber plants. In the intercellular regions of the roots, Yb₂O₃ particles and YbCl₃ were all transformed to YbPO₄. We speculate that the dissolution of Yb₂O₃ particles induced by the organic acids exuded from roots played an important role in the phytotoxicity. Only under the nano-Yb₂O₃ treatment, YbPO₄ deposits were found in the cytoplasm of root cells, so the phytotoxicity might also be attributed to the Yb internalized into the cells.