Phytotoxicity of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles is Related to Both Dissolved Metals Ions and Adsorption of Particles on Seed Surfaces

Abstract

This study assesses the biological effects of nanoparticles (NPs) based on seed germination and root elongation tests. Lettuce, radish and cucumber seeds were incubated with various metal oxide NPs (CuO, NiO, TiO2, Fe2O3, Co3O4), of which only CuO and NiO showed deleterious impacts on the activities of all three seeds. The measured EC50 for seed germinations were: lettuce seed (NiO: 28 mg/L; CuO: 13 mg/L), radish seed (NiO: 401 mg/L; CuO: 398 mg/L), and cucumber seed (NiO: 175 mg/L; CuO: 228 mg/L). Phytotoxicity of TiO2, Fe2O3 and Co3O4 to the tested seeds was not significant, while Co3O4 NP solution (5 g/L) was shown to improve root elongation of radish seedling. Metal oxide NPs tended to adsorb on seed surfaces in the aqueous medium and released metal ions near the seeds. Therefore, metal oxide NPs had higher phytotoxicity than free metal ions of the equivalent concentrations. Further, the surface area-to-volume ratio of seeds may also affect NPs phytotoxicity, whereby small seeds (i.e., lettuce) were the most sensitive to CuO and NiO NPs in our experiments.