Bioaccumulation and oxidative stress responses measured in the estuarine ragworm (Nereis diversicolor) exposed to dissolved, nano- and bulk-sized silver

The impact of Ag NPs on sediment-dwelling organisms has received relatively little attention, particularly in linking bioaccumulation to oxidative injury. The polychaete Nereis diversicolor was exposed to sediments spiked with dissolved Ag (added as AgNO3), Ag NPs (63 ± 27 nm) and larger bulk Ag particles (202 ± 56 μm), for up to 11 days at sublethal concentrations (nominally 2.5, 5, 10 μg Ag g−1 sediment (dw)). There were concentration- and time-dependent differences in the accumulation of the three Ag forms, but all three forms elicited an oxidative stress response. In the cases of Ag NPs and bulk Ag particles, changes in antioxidant markers (glutathione, SOD, CAT, GPx, SeGPx, GST and GR) occurred without significant Ag accumulation. Differences in biomarker profiles between the three Ag forms suggest that the mechanism of oxidative stress caused by particulate Ag is distinct from that of dissolved Ag.