Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr 16:8:880-887.
doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.04.004. eCollection 2021.

Aquatic toxicity of particulate matter emitted by five electroplating processes in two marine microalgae species

Konstantin Pikula  1   2 , Konstantin Kirichenko  2   3 , Igor Vakhniuk  2   3 , Olga-Ioanna Kalantzi  4 , Aleksei Kholodov  5 , Tatiana Orlova  6 , Zhanna Markina  6 , Aristidis Tsatsakis  7   8 , Kirill Golokhvast  1   2   3   9
Affiliations

Aquatic toxicity of particulate matter emitted by five electroplating processes in two marine microalgae species

Konstantin Pikula et al. Toxicol Rep. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Electroplating is a widely used group of industrial processes that make a metal coating on a solid substrate. Our previous research studied the concentrations, characteristics, and chemical composition of nano- and microparticles emitted during different electroplating processes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the environmental toxicity of particulate matter obtained from five different electrochemical processes. We collected airborne particle samples formed during aluminum cleaning, aluminum etching, chemical degreasing, nonferrous metals etching, and nickel plating. The toxicity of the particles was evaluated by the standard microalgae growth rate inhibition test. Additionally, we evaluated membrane potential and cell size changes in the microalgae H. akashiwo and P. purpureum exposed to the obtained suspensions of electroplating particles. The findings of this research demonstrate that the aquatic toxicity of electroplating emissions significantly varies between different industrial processes and mostly depends on particle chemical composition and solubility rather than the number of insoluble particles. The sample from an aluminum cleaning workshop was significantly more toxic for both microalgae species compared to the other samples and demonstrated dose and time-dependent toxicity. The samples obtained during chemical degreasing and nonferrous metals etching processes induced depolarization of microalgal cell membranes, demonstrated the potential of chronic toxicity, and stimulated the growth rate of microalgae after 72 h of exposure. Moreover, the sample from a nonferrous metals etching workshop revealed hormetic dose-response toxicity in H. akashiwo, which can lead to harmful algal blooms in the environment.

Keywords: Bioassay; Fume; Galvanic; Metals; Microalgae; Particulate matter.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Particle size distribution in galvanic particle suspensions. AC, Aluminum cleaning; AE, Aluminum etching; CDG, Chemical degreasing; NME, Nonferrous metals etching; NP, Nickel plating.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Growth inhibition of microalgae H. akashiwo and P. purpureum exposed to galvanic particle suspensions. (a) H. akashiwo after 24 h of exposure, (b) P. purpureum after 24 h of exposure, (c) H. akashiwo after 72 h of exposure, (d) P. purpureum after 72 h of exposure. AC, Aluminum cleaning; AE, Aluminum etching; CDG, Chemical degreasing; NME, Nonferrous metals etching; NP, Nickel plating. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.001, *** p < 0.0001.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Changes of microalgae membrane potential after 24 h and 72 h of exposure to galvanic particle suspensions (a) H. akashiwo after 24 h of exposure, (b) P. purpureum after 24 h of exposure, (c) H. akashiwo after 72 h of exposure, (d) P. purpureum after 72 h of exposure. AC, Aluminum cleaning; AE, Aluminum etching; CDG, Chemical degreasing; NME, Nonferrous metals etching; NP, Nickel plating.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Changes in microalgae cell size 72 h of exposure to galvanic particle suspensions (a) H. akashiwo after 72 h of exposure, (b) P. purpureum after 72 h of exposure. AC, Aluminum cleaning; AE, Aluminum etching; CDG, Chemical degreasing; NME, Nonferrous metals etching; NP, Nickel plating.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Deepak J., Raja V.B., Kaliaraj G.S. Mechanical and corrosion behavior of Cu, Cr, Ni and Zn electroplating on corten A588 steel for scope for betterment in ambient construction applications. Results Phys. 2019;14
    1. Giurlani W., Zangari G., Gambinossi F., Passaponti M., Salvietti E., Di Benedetto F. Electroplating for decorative applications: recent trends in research and development. Coatings. 2018;8:260.
    1. Launay H., Receveur-Bréchot V., Carrière F., Gontero B. Orchestration of algal metabolism by protein disorder. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 2019;672 - PubMed
    1. Li H., Wu H., Qg Wang, Yang M., Li F., Sun Y. Chemical partitioning of fine particle-bound metals on haze–fog and non-haze–fog days in Nanjing, China and its contribution to human health risks. Atmos. Res. 2017;183:142–150.
    1. Onishi K., Otani S., Yoshida A., Mu H., Kurozawa Y. Adverse health effects of Asian dust particles and heavy metals in Japan. Asia Pacific J. Public Health. 2015;27:NP1719–NP1726. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources