Aquatic Environment Exposure and Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials Released from Nano-Enabled Products: Current Status and Data Needs

Rapid commercialisation of nano-enabled products (NEPs) elevates the potential environmental release of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) along the product life cycle. The current review examined the state of the art literature on aquatic environment exposure and ecotoxicity of product released (PR) e...

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Main Authors: Mbuyiselwa Shadrack Moloi, Raisibe Florence Lehutso, Mariana Erasmus, Paul Johan Oberholster, Melusi Thwala
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-10-01
Series:Nanomaterials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/11/2868
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author Mbuyiselwa Shadrack Moloi
Raisibe Florence Lehutso
Mariana Erasmus
Paul Johan Oberholster
Melusi Thwala
author_facet Mbuyiselwa Shadrack Moloi
Raisibe Florence Lehutso
Mariana Erasmus
Paul Johan Oberholster
Melusi Thwala
author_sort Mbuyiselwa Shadrack Moloi
collection DOAJ
description Rapid commercialisation of nano-enabled products (NEPs) elevates the potential environmental release of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) along the product life cycle. The current review examined the state of the art literature on aquatic environment exposure and ecotoxicity of product released (PR) engineered nanomaterials (PR–ENMs). Additionally, the data obtained were applied to estimate the risk posed by PR–ENMs to various trophic levels of aquatic biota as a means of identifying priority NEPs cases that may require attention with regards to examining environmental implications. Overall, the PR–ENMs are predominantly associated with the matrix of the respective NEPs, a factor that often hinders proper isolation of nano-driven toxicity effects. Nevertheless, some studies have attributed the toxicity basis of observed adverse effects to a combination of the released ions, ENMs and other components of NEPs. Notwithstanding the limitation of current ecotoxicology data limitations, the risk estimated herein points to an elevated risk towards fish arising from fabrics’ PR–nAg, and the considerable potential effects from sunscreens’ PR–nZnO and PR–nTiO<sub>2</sub> to algae, echinoderms, and crustaceans (PR–nZnO), whereas PR–nTiO<sub>2</sub> poses no significant risk to echinoderms. Considering that the current data limitations will not be overcome immediately, we recommend the careful application of similar risk estimation to isolate/prioritise cases of NEPs for detailed characterisation of ENMs’ release and effects in aquatic environments.
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spelling doaj.art-ce6902a80fcb4af495bce95079a745a02023-11-23T00:39:36ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912021-10-011111286810.3390/nano11112868Aquatic Environment Exposure and Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials Released from Nano-Enabled Products: Current Status and Data NeedsMbuyiselwa Shadrack Moloi0Raisibe Florence Lehutso1Mariana Erasmus2Paul Johan Oberholster3Melusi Thwala4Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9031, South AfricaWater Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South AfricaCentre for Mineral Biogeochemistry, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9031, South AfricaCentre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9031, South AfricaCentre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9031, South AfricaRapid commercialisation of nano-enabled products (NEPs) elevates the potential environmental release of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) along the product life cycle. The current review examined the state of the art literature on aquatic environment exposure and ecotoxicity of product released (PR) engineered nanomaterials (PR–ENMs). Additionally, the data obtained were applied to estimate the risk posed by PR–ENMs to various trophic levels of aquatic biota as a means of identifying priority NEPs cases that may require attention with regards to examining environmental implications. Overall, the PR–ENMs are predominantly associated with the matrix of the respective NEPs, a factor that often hinders proper isolation of nano-driven toxicity effects. Nevertheless, some studies have attributed the toxicity basis of observed adverse effects to a combination of the released ions, ENMs and other components of NEPs. Notwithstanding the limitation of current ecotoxicology data limitations, the risk estimated herein points to an elevated risk towards fish arising from fabrics’ PR–nAg, and the considerable potential effects from sunscreens’ PR–nZnO and PR–nTiO<sub>2</sub> to algae, echinoderms, and crustaceans (PR–nZnO), whereas PR–nTiO<sub>2</sub> poses no significant risk to echinoderms. Considering that the current data limitations will not be overcome immediately, we recommend the careful application of similar risk estimation to isolate/prioritise cases of NEPs for detailed characterisation of ENMs’ release and effects in aquatic environments.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/11/2868product released nanomaterialsnano-enabled productrisk assessmentecotoxicology of PR–ENMs
spellingShingle Mbuyiselwa Shadrack Moloi
Raisibe Florence Lehutso
Mariana Erasmus
Paul Johan Oberholster
Melusi Thwala
Aquatic Environment Exposure and Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials Released from Nano-Enabled Products: Current Status and Data Needs
Nanomaterials
product released nanomaterials
nano-enabled product
risk assessment
ecotoxicology of PR–ENMs
title Aquatic Environment Exposure and Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials Released from Nano-Enabled Products: Current Status and Data Needs
title_full Aquatic Environment Exposure and Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials Released from Nano-Enabled Products: Current Status and Data Needs
title_fullStr Aquatic Environment Exposure and Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials Released from Nano-Enabled Products: Current Status and Data Needs
title_full_unstemmed Aquatic Environment Exposure and Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials Released from Nano-Enabled Products: Current Status and Data Needs
title_short Aquatic Environment Exposure and Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials Released from Nano-Enabled Products: Current Status and Data Needs
title_sort aquatic environment exposure and toxicity of engineered nanomaterials released from nano enabled products current status and data needs
topic product released nanomaterials
nano-enabled product
risk assessment
ecotoxicology of PR–ENMs
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/11/2868
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AT marianaerasmus aquaticenvironmentexposureandtoxicityofengineerednanomaterialsreleasedfromnanoenabledproductscurrentstatusanddataneeds
AT pauljohanoberholster aquaticenvironmentexposureandtoxicityofengineerednanomaterialsreleasedfromnanoenabledproductscurrentstatusanddataneeds
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