Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Geology, Environmental and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. Electronic address: shanaz07@siswa.um.edu.my
  • 2 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; University Malaya Centre for Ionic Liquids (UMCiL), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Geology, Environmental and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. Electronic address: a_farid@um.edu.my
  • 4 Department of Geology, Environmental and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
J Environ Sci (China), 2018 Oct;72:140-152.
PMID: 30244741 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2017.12.022

Abstract

The toxicity and kinetic uptake potential of zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanomaterials into the red bean (Vigna angularis) plant were investigated. The results obtained revealed that ZnO, due to its high dissolution and strong binding capacity, readily accumulated in the root tissues and significantly inhibited the physiological activity of the plant. However, TiO2 had a positive effect on plant physiology, resulting in promoted growth. The results of biochemical experiments implied that ZnO, through the generation of oxidative stress, significantly reduced the chlorophyll content, carotenoids and activity of stress-controlling enzymes. On the contrary, no negative biochemical impact was observed in plants treated with TiO2. For the kinetic uptake and transport study, we designed two exposure systems in which ZnO and TiO2 were exposed to red bean seedlings individually or in a mixture approach. The results showed that in single metal oxide treatments, the uptake and transport increased with increasing exposure period from one week to three weeks. However, in the metal oxide co-exposure treatment, due to complexation and competition among the particles, the uptake and transport were remarkably decreased. This suggested that the kinetic transport pattern of the metal oxide mixtures varied compared to those of its individual constituents.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.