Prioritising nano- and microparticles: identification of physicochemical properties relevant for toxicity to Raphidocelis subcapitata and Daphnia magna

Environmental Sciences Europe

Table 3 Cu and Zn nano- and microparticles available in powder form—ecotoxicity on algae and selected physicochemical properties form (for material details, see Additional file 1: Table S4 and Table S5)

Material	Morphology	Size ∅ [nm]	Size length [µm]	Solubility [mg/L]	Reactivity	Agglomeration/attachment ²	EC₅₀ [mg/L]
nCu	Sphere	76	–	0.14 ± 0.093	Yes	Algae densely covered by particles	0.020 [0.019–0.021]
Cu_fibre	Fibre	228	6.1	1.2 ± 0.23	Yes	Small and large, loose and dense agglomerates of fibres with attached algae; obvious entrapment of algae not visible	0.16 [0.07–0.078}
CuO	Sphere	24	–	0.1	Yes	Algae densely covered by particles; agglomerates of algae and particles	1.4 [1.2–1.6]
ZnO-NM-110	Cube	41	–	2.7 ± 1.5	No	Algae densely covered by particles	0.09 [0.08–0.10]
ZnO-NM-113	Cube	42	–	2.8 ± 0.7	No	Minor attachment of particles to algae	0.11 [0.05–0.21]
ZnO-NM-111	Cube	34	–	1.7 ± 0.5	No	Minor attachment of particles to algae	0.55 [0.38–0.80]