Embryotoxicity of TiO2 nanoparticles to Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lmk)

Few data exist on the ecotoxicological effects of nanosized titanium dioxide (nTiO2) towards marine species with specific reference to bivalve molluscs and their relative life stages. Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck was selected to assess the potential adverse effects of nTiO2 (0-64 mg/L) on its early larval development stages (pre-D shell stage, malformed D-shell stage and normal D-shell stage larvae) considering two exposure scenarios characterised by total darkness (ASTM protocol) and natural photoperiod (light/dark). This approach was considered to check the presence of potential effects associated to the photocatalytic properties of nTiO2. Parallel experiments were carried on with the bulk reference TiCl4. The toxicity of nTiO2 showed to be mainly related to its “nano” condition and to be influenced by the exposure to light that supported the increase in the number of pre-D shell stage (retarded) larvae compared to the malformed ones especially at the maximum effect concentrations (4 and 8 mg nTiO2/L). The non-linear regression toxicity data analysis showed the presence of two EC50 values per exposure scenario: a) EC(50)1 = 1.23 mg/L (0.00-4.15 mg/L) and EC(50)2 = 38.56 mg/L (35.64-41.47 mg/L) for the dark exposure conditions; b) EC(50)1 = 1.65 mg/L (0.00-4.74 mg/L) and EC(50)2 = 16.39 mg/L (13.31-19.48 mg/L) for the light/dark exposure conditions. The potential implication of agglomeration and sedimentation phenomena on ecotoxicological data was discussed.