Sorptive removal of trinitroglycerin (TNG) from water using nanostructured silica-based materials

Role of surface modification in zinc oxide nanoparticles and its toxicity assessment toward human dermal fibroblast cells

The wide-scale applications of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) in photocatalysts, gas sensors, and cosmetics may cause toxicity to humans and environments. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to reduce the toxicity of ZnO NPs by coating them with a silica (SiO2) layer, which could be used in human applications, such as cosmetic preparations. The sol-gel method was used to synthesize core ZnO with SiO2-shelled NPs (SiO2/ZnO NPs) with varying degrees of coating. Diverse studies were performed to analyze the toxicity of NPs against cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. To ensure the decreased toxicity of the produced SiO2/ZnO NPs, cytotoxicity in membrane damage and/or intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were assessed by employing 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, lactate dehydrogenase, 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin, and lipid peroxide estimations. The cores of ZnO NPs exhibited cytotoxicity over time, regardless of shell thickness. Nevertheless, the thicker SiO2/ZnO NPs revealed reduced enzyme leakage, decreased peroxide production, and less oxidative stress than their bare ZnO NPs or thinner SiO2/ZnO NPs. Therefore, thicker SiO2/ZnO NPs moderated the toxicity of ZnO NPs by restricting free radical formation and the release of zinc ions, and decreasing surface contact with cells.

Phytotoxicity and uptake of nitroglycerin in a natural sandy loam soil

Nitroglycerin (NG) is widely used for the production of explosives and solid propellants, and is a soil contaminant of concern at some military training ranges. NG phytotoxicity data reported in the literature cannot be applied directly to development of ecotoxicological benchmarks for plant exposures in soil because they were determined in studies using hydroponic media, cell cultures, and transgenic plants. Toxicities of NG in the present studies were evaluated for alfalfa (Medicago sativa), barnyard grass (Echinochloa crusgalli), and ryegrass (Lolium perenne) exposed to NG in Sassafras sandy loam soil. Uptake and degradation of NG were also evaluated in ryegrass. The median effective concentration values for shoot growth ranged from 40 to 231 mg kg(-1) in studies with NG freshly amended in soil, and from 23 to 185 mg kg(-1) in studies with NG weathered-and-aged in soil. Weathering-and-aging NG in soil did not significantly affect the toxicity based on 95% confidence intervals for either seedling emergence or plant growth endpoints. Uptake studies revealed that NG was not accumulated in ryegrass but was transformed into dinitroglycerin in the soil and roots, and was subsequently translocated into the ryegrass shoots. The highest bioconcentration factors for dinitroglycerin of 685 and 40 were determined for roots and shoots, respectively. Results of these studies will improve our understanding of toxicity and bioconcentration of NG in terrestrial plants and will contribute to ecological risk assessment of NG-contaminated sites.