Bioaccumulation and biomarker responses of cubic and octahedral Cu2O micro/nanocrystals in Daphnia magna

Great progress has been made in the controlled fabrication of nanomaterials with given sizes, shapes, and geometries. However, how such changes in structure potentially affect the bioavailability and toxicity of metal nanoparticles to aquatic organisms remains mostly unknown. The present study reports the different behaviors of two types of Cu2O micro/nanocrystals (micro/nano-Cu2O) with different shapes (cubic and octahedral) and crystallographies (with exposed surfaces as {100} or {111}). The bioaccumulation, median lethal concentration, and biomarker responses of Daphnia magna exposed to the two micro/nanocrystals are also investigated. The Cu accumulation, production of metallothionein (MT), and inhibition ratio of D. magna increased gradually with increasing micro/nano-Cu2O concentration. The two crystals showed slight Cu accumulation differences toward D. magna, and their biomarker responses and toxicities to D. magna differed significantly as well. The octahedral Cu2O micro/nanocrystals were more toxic to D. magna compared with the cubic micro/nanocrystals probably because of the higher surface activities of the {111} facets compared with those of the {100} facets for cuprites. Food ingestion was the main entry pathway of the micro/nanocrystals into organisms, and toxicity was consequently determined based on the dissolution behavior of the micro/nanocrystals in vivo.

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► We study bioaccumulation and biomarker responses of differently shaped Cu2O nanocrystals (cube and octahedron) in D. magna.
► Octahedral micro/nano-Cu2O shows highly toxic to D. magna than cubic micro/nano-Cu2O.
► Solubility of the nanocrystals in vivo determined the differences in their toxicity.
► The microstructure of Cu2O micro/nanocrystals plays a key role in its toxicity to aquatic organisms.