Issue 8, 2023

Chronic exposure to complex metal oxide nanomaterials induces production of reactive oxygen species in bacteria

Abstract

Use of complex metal oxide nanoparticles has drastically risen in recent years, especially due to their utility in electric vehicle batteries. However, use of these materials has outpaced our understanding of how they might affect environmental organisms, which they could encounter through release during manufacture, use, and disposal. In particular, little is known about the effects of chronic exposure to complex metal oxide nanoparticles. Here, we have focused on an environmentally relevant bacterial species, Shewanella oneidensis, which is ubiquitous in nature and responsible for bioremediation of heavy metals and assessed the toxic effects of nanoscale lithiated nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), which is an emerging battery cathode material for electronic devices. We previously reported that chronic exposure of S. oneidensis to NMC results in the emergence of an adaptive phenotype where the bacteria are able to tolerate otherwise lethal concentrations of NMC. In the present study, we aim to investigate the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and changes in phenotype of the NMC-adapted bacterial population. We found that NMC-exposed bacteria possess ROS-containing membrane vesicles, as well as an increased propensity to generate random DNA mutations and harbor other DNA damage. Thus, our data indicate substantial genetic-level variation in bacteria that results from chronic exposure to toxic complex metal oxide nanomaterials.

Graphical abstract: Chronic exposure to complex metal oxide nanomaterials induces production of reactive oxygen species in bacteria

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 dec 2022
Accepted
13 mar 2023
First published
14 mar 2023

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2023,10, 1978-1992

Author version available

Chronic exposure to complex metal oxide nanomaterials induces production of reactive oxygen species in bacteria

D. Sharan, D. Wolfson, C. M. Green, P. Lemke, A. G. Gavin, R. J. Hamers, Z. V. Feng and E. E. Carlson, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2023, 10, 1978 DOI: 10.1039/D2EN01144A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements