Trophic Transfer of Au Nanoparticles from Soil along a Simulated Terrestrial Food Chain.
Summary of "Trophic Transfer of Au Nanoparticles from Soil along a Simulated Terrestrial Food Chain."
To determine if nanoparticles (NPs) could be transferred from soil media to invertebrates and then to secondary consumers, we examined the trophic transfer of Au NPs along a simulated terrestrial food chain. Earthworms (Eisenia fetida) were exposed to Au NPs in artificial soil media and fed to juvenile bullfrogs (Rana catesbeina). Earthworm Au concentrations were continuously monitored so that the cumulative dose to bullfrogs could be accurately estimated throughout the experiment. We exposed a second group of bullfrogs to equivalent doses of Au NPs by oral gavage to compare the bioavailability of NPs through direct exposure to trophic exposure. We observed accumulation of Au in liver, kidney, spleen, muscle, stomach, and intestine in both treatment groups. Tissue concentrations decreased on average of approximately 100-fold with each trophic-step. The total assimilated dose averaged only 0.09% of the administered dose for direct exposure (oral gavage), but 0.12% for the trophic exposure. The results suggest that manufactured NPs present in soil may be taken up into food chains and transferred to higher order consumers. They also suggest that Au NPs may be more bioavailable through trophic exposure than direct exposure and that trophic transfer may influence the biodistribution of particles once absorbed.
Affiliation
Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky , Lexington, Kentucky 40546, United States.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Environmental science & technology
ISSN: 1520-5851
Pages: 9753-60
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22897478
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es3025325
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Nanoparticles
Nanometer-sized particles that are nanoscale in three dimensions. They include nanocrystaline materials; NANOCAPSULES; METAL NANOPARTICLES; DENDRIMERS, and QUANTUM DOTS. The uses of nanoparticles include DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS and cancer targeting and imaging.
Metal Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles produced from metals whose uses include biosensors, optics, and catalysts. In biomedical applications the particles frequently involve the noble metals, especially gold and silver.
Wetlands
Environments or habitats at the interface between truly terrestrial ecosystems and truly aquatic systems making them different from each yet highly dependent on both. Adaptations to low soil oxygen characterize many wetland species.
Algae
A major group of polyphyletic organisms of extremely varied morphology and physiology, mostly photosynthetic, but distinguished from plants by their complex form of sexual reproduction. They are freshwater and marine, terrestrial and subterranean; some are neustonic (living at the interface of water and the atmosphere). They live in various protozoa and within other plants. They live also in soil and on soil surfaces, on long-persistent snows, and in Antarctic rocks. Thermophilic algae inhabit hot springs. (From Webster, 3d ed; from Bold & Wynne, Introduction to the Algae, 2d ed, pp1-6)
Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor
A member of the nerve growth factor family of trophic factors. In the brain BDNF has a trophic action on retinal, cholinergic, and dopaminergic neurons, and in the peripheral nervous system it acts on both motor and sensory neurons. (From Kendrew, The Encyclopedia of Molecular Biology, 1994)
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