Version 1
: Received: 31 January 2018 / Approved: 1 February 2018 / Online: 1 February 2018 (03:20:55 CET)
Version 2
: Received: 24 April 2018 / Approved: 25 April 2018 / Online: 25 April 2018 (07:47:04 CEST)
Liu, K.; He, Z.; Byrne, H.J.; Curtin, J.F.; Tian, F. Investigating the Role of Gold Nanoparticle Shape and Size in Their Toxicities to Fungi. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health2018, 15, 998.
Liu, K.; He, Z.; Byrne, H.J.; Curtin, J.F.; Tian, F. Investigating the Role of Gold Nanoparticle Shape and Size in Their Toxicities to Fungi. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 998.
Liu, K.; He, Z.; Byrne, H.J.; Curtin, J.F.; Tian, F. Investigating the Role of Gold Nanoparticle Shape and Size in Their Toxicities to Fungi. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health2018, 15, 998.
Liu, K.; He, Z.; Byrne, H.J.; Curtin, J.F.; Tian, F. Investigating the Role of Gold Nanoparticle Shape and Size in Their Toxicities to Fungi. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 998.
Abstract
The possibility of releasing gold nanoparticles (GNP) into the environment has been rapidly increasing with the wide spread and flourishing application of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in a wide range of areas. Consequently, environmental effects of GNP, especially toxicities to living organisms have drawn great attention. However, their toxicological characteristics still remain unclear. Fungi, as the decomposers of the ecosystem, interact directly with the environment and critically control the overall health of the biosphere. Thus, their sensitivity to GNP toxicity is particularly important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of shape and size of GNPs on their toxicities to fungi, which could help reveal the ecotoxicity of GNPs. Aspergillus niger, Mucor hiemalis and Penicillium chrysogenum were chosen for toxicity assessment, and spherical and star/flower-shaped GNPs sized from 0.7 nm to large aggregates of 400 nm have been synthesised. After exposure to GNPs and their corresponding reaction agents and incubation for 48 hours, the survival rates of each kind of fungus was calculated and compared. The results indicated that fungal species was the major determinant of the variation of survival rates, whereby A. niger was most sensitive and M. himalis was least sensitive to GNP exposure. Additionally, larger and non-spherical GNPs had relatively stronger toxicities.
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Environmental Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
