Silver Nanoparticles Highly Toxic to Vulnerable Arctic Ecosystems
08.04.2011 - Land & Geology, Flora & Fauna, Arctic
Researchers from Queen’s University in Canada recently discovered that some silver nanoparticles that are present in many manufactured products, including antibacterial agents, could have extremely damaging effects on microbial ecosystems in the Arctic.
The researchers, who had their findings published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, acquired a soil sample from a remote site in the Arctic, which they believed would have a low chance to have been contaminated by nanoparticles. The team identified a beneficial microbe that helps with the process of nitrogen fixation in plants, a process essential to plant growth.
After this, the researchers added three different kinds of nanoparticles, including silver, to the soil sample and let them sit for six months to see what the impact would be. The team made a surprising discovery: negligible quantities of the important nitrogen-fixing species remained in the soil. Further laboratory experiments showed that the species was more than a million times more susceptible to silver nanoparticles than other species.
The study indicated that silver nanoparticles can therefore be classified as highly toxic to microbial communities, which is particularly concerning given the vulnerability of the Arctic ecosystems to climate change.
