Mitigation Effects and Associated Mechanisms of Environmentally Relevant Thiols on the Phytotoxicity of Molybdenum Disulfide Nanosheets

Thorough investigations of the environmental fate and risks are necessary for the safe application of engineered nanomaterials. Nevertheless, the current understanding of potential transformations of MoS2 (an intensively studied two-dimensional nanosheet) upon interactions with ubiquitous environmen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2022-07, Vol.56 (13), p.9556-9568
Main Authors: Zou, Wei, Zhao, Chenxu, Zhang, Xingli, Jin, Caixia, Jiang, Kai, Zhou, Qixing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Aquatic environment
Colloid chemistry
Ecotoxicology and Public Health
Glutathione
Intermediates
Mitigation
Molecular dynamics
Molybdenum
Molybdenum disulfide
Nanomaterials
Nanosheets
Nanotechnology
Oxidation
Oxidative stress
Perturbation
Photosynthesis
Phytotoxicity
Reactive oxygen species
Thiols
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Summary:Thorough investigations of the environmental fate and risks are necessary for the safe application of engineered nanomaterials. Nevertheless, the current understanding of potential transformations of MoS2 (an intensively studied two-dimensional nanosheet) upon interactions with ubiquitous environmentally relevant thiols (ERTs) in water is limited. This study revealed that two ERTs, l-cysteine and mercaptoacetic acid, could modify MoS2 by covalently grafting thiol groups on S atoms of 1T phases, improving the colloidal persistence and chemical stability of MoS2. Compared with the pristine form, MoS2–thiols with higher dispersity exhibited significantly mitigated envelopment and ultrastructural damage to microalgae. MoS2-triggered growth inhibition, upregulation of reactive oxygen species, photosynthetic injury, and metabolic perturbation in algae were remarkably attenuated by ERTs. The diminished capability for MoS2 to generate reactive intermediates and glutathione oxidation driven by ERTs caused the weakness of oxidative stress and negative effects. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that ERTs altered the extent of the influence of MoS2 on the secondary structures and functions of adsorbed intracellular proteins, which also contributed to the lower phytotoxicity of MoS2. Our findings provide evidence for the crucial role of specific organic ligands in the risk of MoS2 in aquatic environments.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.1c08534