Impact of silver nanoparticles on natural marine biofilm bacteria

Julia Fabrega, Rui Zhang, Joanna C. Renshaw, Wen Tso Liu, Jamie R. Lead*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

109 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

There has been a recent increase in the use of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) in a wide range of consumer products due to their highly effective antimicrobial properties. However, Ag NPs give cause for concern since their wide use makes them likely to be released into aquatic ecosystems and potentially affect natural bacterial communities. In this study marine biofilms were grown in situ in a coastal site (Singapore Harbour) and exposed in the laboratory for a further 24h to 0-2000μgL -1 of well characterised Ag NPs. Increasing concentrations of Ag NPs caused a significant decrease in biofilm volume and biomass, and Ag uptake by biofilms per unit of volume was also dependent on concentration. Terminal fragment length polymorphisms and subsequent cluster and phylogenetic analysis showed the presence of major bacterial groups in biofilms irrespective of treatment with Ag NPs. This implies that even at the highest concentrations studied these taxonomic groups were not displaced. Nevertheless, biofilm succession was impeded on Ag NP treated biofilms, affecting the relative abundance of major bacterial groups in the biofilm community, with potential longer term effects on biofilm development and function.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)961-966
Number of pages6
JournalChemosphere
Volume85
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2011

Keywords

  • bacteria
  • biouptake
  • DNA fingerprinting
  • marine biofilm
  • nanomaterial
  • silver toxicity
  • silver nanoparticles

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