Toxicity of α-Ag2WO4 microcrystals to freshwater microalga Raphidocelis subcapitata at cellular and population levels.

Abstract Silver-based materials have microbicidal action, photocatalytic activity and electronic properties. The increase in manufacturing and consumption of these compounds, given their wide functionality and application, is a source of contamination to freshwater ecosystems and causes toxicity to aquatic biota. Therefore, for the first time, we evaluated the toxicity of the silver tungstate (α-Ag2WO4), in different morphologies (cube and rod), for the microalga Raphidocelis subcapitata. To investigate the toxicity, we evaluated the growth rate, cell complexity and size, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence. The α-Ag2WO4 – R (rod) was 1.7 times more toxic than α-Ag2WO4–C (cube), with IC10 and IC50 values of, respectively, 8.68 ± 0.91 μg L−1 and 13.72 ± 1.48 μg L−1 for α-Ag2WO4 – R and 18.60 ± 1.61 μg L−1 and 23.47 ± 1.16 μg L−1 for α-Ag2WO4–C. The release of silver ions was quantified and indicated that the silver ions dissolution from the α-Ag2WO4 – R ranged from 34 to 71%, while the Ag ions from the α-Ag2WO4–C varied from 35 to 97%. The α-Ag2WO4–C induced, after 24 h exposure, the increase of ROS at the lowest concentrations (8.81 and 19.32 μg L−1), whereas the α-Ag2WO4 – R significantly induced ROS production at 96 h at the highest concentration (31.76 μg L−1). Both microcrystal shapes significantly altered the cellular complexity and decreased the Chl a fluorescence at all tested concentrations. We conclude that the different morphologies of α-Ag2WO4 negatively affect the microalga and are important sources of silver ions leading to harmful consequences to the aquatic ecosystem.