Combined Effects of Test Media and Dietary Algae on the Toxicity of CuO and ZnO Nanoparticles to Freshwater Microcrustaceans Daphnia magna and Heterocypris incongruens: Food for Thought

The chemical composition of the test medium as well as the presence of algae (microcrustaceans’ food) affects the bioavailability and thus the toxicity of metal nanoparticles (NP) to freshwater microcrustaceans. This study evaluated the effect of the addition of algae (Rapidocelis subcapitata at 7.5 × 106 cells/mL) on the toxicity of CuO (primary size 22–25 nm) and ZnO NP (10–15 nm) to planktic Daphnia magna and benthic Heterocypris incongruens in artificial (mineral) and natural freshwater (lake water). The toxicity of ionic controls, CuSO4 and ZnSO4, was evaluated in parallel. When algae were added and the toxicity was tested in mineral medium, 48 h EC50 of CuO and ZnO NP to D. magna was ~2 mg metal/L and 6-day LC50 of H. incongruens was 1.1 mg metal/L for CuO and 0.36 mg metal/L for ZnO. The addition of algae to D. magna test medium mitigated the toxicity of CuO and ZnO NP 4–11-fold when the test was conducted in natural water but not in the artificial freshwater. The addition of algae mitigated the toxicity of CuSO4 (but not ZnSO4) to D. magna at least 3-fold, whatever the test medium. In the 6-day H. incongruens tests (all exposures included algae), only up to 2-fold differences in metal NP and salt toxicity between mineral and natural test media were observed. To add environmental relevance to NP hazard assessment for the freshwater ecosystem, toxicity tests could be conducted in natural water and organisms could be fed during the exposure.