Effect of solubilized multi-wall carbon nanotube on the growth, photosynthesis and cellular thiol content of brown tide alga Aureococcus anophagefferens

The potential impact of carbon nanotube released into the environment is a great concern. This study focused on the interaction between solublized multi-wall nanotube (MWNT) and marine alga Aureococcus anophagefferens (CCMP 1984), a recently identified harmful brown tide alga in the northeast coast of the U.S. Both short-term and long-term exposure experiments were carried out in artificial seawater medium Aquil amended with MWNT at 0, 0.005, 0.05, 0.25, 2.5 and 5.0 mg/L. Effects on culture in vivo fluorescence were measured for short-term exposure, where MWNT was added to exponentially growing cultures. Effects on growth rate and cellular glutathione were quantified to determine the impact of long-term exposure. In addition, the physical interaction between MWNT and algal cells was observed using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM).