Nanoparticles may have bigger impact on the environment than previously thought

Over the last two decades, nanotechnology has improved many everyday products, from microelectronics to sunscreens. Nanoparticles (particles just a few hundred atoms in size) are ending up in the environment by the ton, but scientists are still unclear about the long-term effects of these super-small particles.

Chemist Erin Carlson led research showing that nanoparticles can cause resistance in bacteria. Photo: Patrick O'Leary, University of Minnesota

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have shown that nanoparticles may have a bigger impact on the environment than previously thought.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota, through the National Science Foundation Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, found that a common, non-disease-causing bacterium in the environment, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, developed rapid resistance when repeatedly exposed to nanoparticles used in making lithium ion batteries, the rechargeable batteries used in portable electronics and electric vehicles.

The resistance means that the fundamental biochemistry and biology of the bacteria are changing.

The results of the study are unusual, the researchers say. Bacterial resistance usually occurs because bacteria become resistant to attempts to kill them. In this case, the nanoparticles used in lithium ion batteries were not intended to kill bacteria.

This is the first report of non-antibacterial nanoparticles causing resistance in bacteria.

Bacteria are prevalent in lakes and soil where there is a delicate balance of organisms. Other organisms feed on the microbes, and the resistant bacteria could have effects scientists can't yet predict.

This work reveals the unexplored and long-term impacts some nanoparticles have on the living organisms around us.

This discovery at the chemistry-biology interface is a first step toward developing new sustainable materials and practices and providing the groundwork for possible remediation approaches. (National Science Foundation)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Scientists describe how 'upside-down rivers' of warm water break Antarctica's ice shelf

Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) in Colorado and the College of Wooster in Ohio reported a new mechanism by which warm ocean currents erode the ice shelves along the coast of Antarctica, contributing to the planet's rising oceans.

Picoscience and a plethora of new materials

Materials so small they make nanomaterials look like behemoths.

Structural complexity in forests improves carbon capture

Scientists find that eastern U.S. forest complexity improves carbon capture.

Collapse of desert bird populations likely due to heat stress from climate change

Hotter temperatures mean birds need more water to cool off -- if it's available.

Study finds rising ozone a hidden threat to corn

Scientists determining how today's corn plants will respond to future ozone levels.

Voracious fish defend coral reefs against warming

Researchers reported warming seas appear to decrease the efficacy of the chemical compounds that corals release into the water to defend themselves from bacteria and encroaching seaweed, but these losses may be mitigated if there are large numbers of hungry fish around.