Effects of physiochemical properties of test media on nanoparticle toxicity to Daphnia magna Straus.

The physicochemical property of standard test media significantly influenced the aggregation and dissolution of Ag, CuO and ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and the toxicity of the NPs to Daphnia magna. For all the NPs, the highest amount of metal ions was released from the ISO medium, whereas acute toxicity to D. magna was highest in the moderately hard water medium (EC50 = 4.94, 980, and 1,950 μg L(-1) for Ag, CuO, and ZnO, respectively). By comparing EC50 values based on the total and dissolved concentrations of NPs with those of metal salt solutions, we found that both particulate and dissolved fractions were likely responsible for the toxicity of Ag NPs, whereas the dissolved fraction mostly contributed to the toxicity of CuO and ZnO NPs.