Author(s)

Xiaoxiao Chen, Xing Zhu, Rui Li, Hanchao Yao, Zhisong Lu, Xu Yang

Institute for Clean Energy & Advanced Materials, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Huazhong Normal University, Wuhan, China.

With the rapid development of nanotechnology and widespread use of nanoproducts, concerns have arisen regarding the ecotoxicity of these materials. In this paper, the photosynthetic toxicity and oxidative damage induced by nano Fe₃O₄ on a model organism, Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) in aquatic environment, were studied. The results showed that Nano-Fe₃O₄ was toxic to C. vulgaris and affected its content of chlorophyll a, malonaldehyde and glutathione, CO₂ absorption, net photosynthetic rate, superoxide dismutase activity and inhibition of hydroxyl radical generation. At higher concentrations, compared with the control group, the toxicity of nano-Fe₃O₄ was significantly different. It suggested that nano-Fe₃O₄ is ecotoxic to C. vulgaris in aquatic environment.

Nano-Fe3O4; Chlorella vulgaris; Photosynthetic Toxicity; Oxidative Damage; Ecotoxicity

Chen, X. , Zhu, X. , Li, R. , Yao, H. , Lu, Z. and Yang, X. (2012) Photosynthetic Toxicity and Oxidative Damage Induced by nano-Fe3O4 on Chlorella vulgaris in Aquatic Environment. Open Journal of Ecology, 2, 21-28. doi: 10.4236/oje.2012.21003.