Oxidative stress in microbes after exposure to iron nanoparticles: analysis of aldehydes as oxidative damage products of lipids and proteins
Abstract
Due to their enhanced reactivity, metal and metal-oxide nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) nanomaterials have been introduced into remediation practice. To ensure that environmental applications of nanomaterials are safe, their possible toxic effects should be described.
However, there is still a lack of suitable toxicity tests that address the specific mode of action of nanoparticles, especially for nZVI. This contribution presents a novel approach for monitoring one of the most discussed adverse effects of nanoparticles, i.e., oxidative stress (OS).
We optimized and developed an assay based on headspace-SPME-GC-MS analysis that enables the direct determination of volatile oxidative damage products (aldehydes) of lipids and proteins in microbial cultures after exposure to commercial types of nZVI.