| MadSci Network: Zoology |
I am conducting an experiment on the ecological effect of gold nanoparticles using the mortality rate of daphnia magna as a toxicological endpoint. I will be using different concentrations of gold nanoparticles by using the process of serial dilution. I want to make sure even if with the smallest amount of concentration of metal nanoparticles, not all of them will die very quickly.
Hi Theresa,
It looks like you will be able to find a sufficiently low concentration of gold nano particles to serve as a baseline for your experiment, as there are clearly concentrations of nanoparticles that are sub-lethal to Daphnia.
You should take a look at the following papers, which describe experiments similar to yours, and then search PubMed for additional papers on this topic.
Lovern SB, Klaper R. (2006) Daphnia magna mortality when exposed to titanium dioxide and fullerene (C60) nanoparticles. Environ Toxicol Chem. 25(4):1132-7.
Lovern SB, Strickler JR, Klaper R. (2007) Behavioral and physiological changes in Daphnia magna when exposed to nanoparticle suspensions (titanium dioxide, nano-C60, and C60HxC70Hx). Environ Sci Technol. 41(12):4465-70. Free Full Text
Lovern SB, Owen HA, Klaper R. (2008) Electron microscopy of gold nanoparticle intake in the gut of Daphnia magna. Nanotoxicology. 2(1):43-48. doi:10.1080/17435390801935960.
Klaper R, Crago J, Barr J, Arndt D, Setyowati K, Chen J. (2009) Toxicity biomarker expression in daphnids exposed to manufactured nanoparticles: changes in toxicity with functionalization. Environ Pollut. 157(4):1152-6. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2008.11.010.
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