Themed collection Recent Open Access Articles

Here we discuss the potential of engineered nanoparticles to act as agents affecting the immune status in different environmentally relevant species, with a focus on the emerging experimental models launched by the EU Horizon 2020 project PANDORA.

We propose to include the time-dependent size distribution of dispersed and internalized nanoparticles (NPs) in the ecotoxicological evaluation of exposure of biota to NPs and to develop tools to add the particle dynamics in the bioavailability modelling of NPs.

The scientific community has invested effort into standardising methodologies for the regulatory ecotoxicity testing of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), but the practical requirements for bioaccumulation testing of ENMs have been given less attention.

Nanorobots for biomedical applications have experienced extensive research and rapid development during the last decade, up to a point where they can now deliver cargos to designated sites in organisms under laboratory conditions.

Heteroaggregation of engineered nanoparticles with suspended particulate matter in theory and practice: a roadmap for understanding and determining attachment efficiencies.

This frontier reviews impressive progresses of nano-enabled solar-driven water evaporation and clean water production made in the past 4 years.

Design and engineering of metal–organic frameworks for the adsorption/degradation of inorganic toxic gases, organic vapors and particulate matter.

Despite the diverse structures and functions of the gut barrier in the animal kingdom, some common features of gut lumen chemistry control the behaviour of engineered nanomaterials, and with some potentially novel uptake pathways in invertebrates.

Metabolites present in the corona may play a key role in biological recognition of nanomaterials yet remain a much-overlooked aspect of the corona.

Quantification of the uptake and elimination of nanomaterials (NMs) by organisms is key in assessing the environmental risks of NMs.

Environmental transformations of natural and engineered carbon nanoparticles significantly affect their fate, transport, and interactions with organic contaminants.

In silico methods provide an alternative and reliable route for the toxicity evaluation of metal oxide nanoparticles.

Different plant species respond differently to nCeO₂ under different culturing conditions: for some, deficiency of P enhances the accumulation of Ce (mainly Ce³⁺) and phytotoxicity.

The environmental impact of graphene oxide was evaluated on the model organism Artemia franciscana for ecotoxicological studies considering different biological parameters.

Global transcriptomics uncovered key molecular processes impacted by subtoxic dose of lithium cobalt oxide nanoparticles, indicating cellular attempts to restore energy and oxygen balance.

In the presence of sulfide, organic matter influences iron mineral transformation pathways and kinetics.

Growth of naturally occurring CdS nanoparticles is constrained by natural organic matter (NOM), which also limits the reduction of CdS colloidal stability by Mn²⁺ and prevents incorporation of Mn into the CdS crystal lattice.

Secreted corona composition of Ag and TiO₂ NMs, evaluated after 7 days of continuous exposure to daphnids, provides important insights into the biological pathways perturbed by the NMs.

TiO₂-NPs reduce the growth of coastal microalgae in environmentally relevant conditions, and alter sediment biostabilisation, primary production and nutrient recycling. These effects vary between environmental contexts (seasons).

This study explored the potential of ceria nanoparticles (CeO₂ NPs) to alleviate stress in hydroponic rice caused by low N (LN) and high N (HN) stresses.

Ag bioaccumulation upon exposure to pristine Ag NPs is of bigger concern in acidic sandy soils, but not in case of the environmentally relevant sulfidized Ag NPs, which do not bioaccumulate in P. scaber or F. candida.

Polystyrene nanoplastics are internalized in zebrafish liver cells, accumulating in lysosomes, and in zebrafish larvae but do not affect the larval suvival to a lethal infection.

This study used stable isotope-labeled copper oxide nanoparticles (⁶⁵CuO NPs) to determine their trophic transfer potential from sediment to worms to fish at environmentally realistic exposure doses and compared to dissolved Cu (⁶⁵CuCl₂).

Microorganisms such as Stenotrophomonas bentonitica could influence the safety of the deep geological repository system by producing nanoparticles and volatile compounds of selenium.

An allergen–nanoparticle interaction study was performed using hAELVi cells grown under submerged vs. air–liquid interface culture conditions. Choice of cellular models showed impact on the investigation of uptake kinetics and inflammatory responses.

At equal cumulated dose, a chronic exposure to silver nanoparticles produces more effects on macrophages than an acute exposure.

Weathering and fragmentation of polymer nanocomposites.

The pH in the anterior gut of Daphnia magna is more than 2 pH units lower than the cultural medium.

Upon exposure to non-toxic concentration of silver nanoparticles, only the ionic form of silver is found in the nucleus leading to an endocrine disruptor-like effect.

Aggregated small nanoplastics are still toxic whereas solid nanoplastics with the same size as the aggregates are not.

This paper revealed that the changes in the protein conformation and the dissolution of silver nanoparticles depended on the protein structure and could result in different degrees of enzymatic activity modulation.

An electrospun nanofibrous adsorbent with micro-, meso- and macropores and surface area of 565 m² g⁻¹ was developed for the rapid removal of crude oil from seawater.

Natural organic matter (NOM) impedes the growth of colloidally stable Cu_xS nanoparticles and slows down their morphological development, but also drives their oxidative dissolution.

Pristine engineered nanomaterials (NMs) entering the aquatic environment become ‘aged’ during their lifetime via chemical, physical and/or biological process.

The elucidation of bioavailability, uptake and elimination as well as accumulation of the test items was possible on the level of total and particle concentrations for the whole soft body as well as the single tissue compartments.

Copper complexed polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane pillared smectite clay (Cu²⁺@POSS_SWy-2) exhibits excellent adsorption properties for chloridazon and its metabolites.

Primary amine-terminated Qdots preferentially interact with liquid-ordered domain boundaries in bilayers and with lipid rafts in intact cells.

An efficient and rapid testing paradigm to evaluate the biological uptake, distribution, and ecological risks of Cu based NPs.

Increases in the production and applications of graphene oxide (GO), coupled with reports of its toxic effects, are raising concerns about its health and ecological risks.

A strong alkali extraction technique and suitable single particle ICP-MS method is described for the routine quantifying of particle number concentration, particle size and particle mass concentration for silver nanomaterials in fish tissue.

Online microdroplet calibration is used to determine the mass and particle number concentration of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) without the use of NP standards. This approach can be applied directly to quantify NPs in environmental matrices.

CuO and ZnO nanoparticles offer a low-cost, safe and effective way to mitigate membrane biofouling without disseminating resistance genes.

Silver nanoparticles are known to have profounds effects on living cells, but little is known on how and to which extent cells recover after an acute exposure to silver nanoparticles. This is studied on macrophages in this work.

Graphene oxide (GO) is a biocidal nanomaterial, but is it also anti-adhesive? Here we show that GO-based coatings exhibiting low bacterial adhesion properties can be formed by edge-tethering GO nanosheets to hydrophilic polymer brushes.

This article provides a bird's-eye-view of the status and scale of commercialized and nascent nanotechnologies in the context of global element cycles to prioritize and guide relevant environmental health research.

Quantitative environmental risk assessment of nanocellulose, using a dynamic and probabilistic modelling approach. Results show low risk, contributing towards the safe development of this material.

Overall, fish showed more Ag accumulation from AgNO₃ and Ag NP exposures compared to the Ag₂S NP treatment.

Repeated exposure to E171 or TiO₂-NPs, in vitro, induce moderate inflammation and mucus secretion in intestinal cells.

Nanoparticle dissolution in local milieu can affect its ecotoxicity and therapeutic applications.

Micro- and nanomaterials can i) reduce cement consumption in concrete, ii) improve durability of cement-based constructions and iii) modulate particle release.

Highlighted are the protein properties determining protein binding to the silver nanoparticle surface.

Schematic presentation of the conceptual approach used to study trophic transfer of CuO NPs and dissolved Cu (CuCl₂) from sediment to worms (T. tubifex), and from worms (T. tubifex) to fish (three-spined stickleback).

The uptake of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) by the gut of fishes is poorly understood.