In field conditions, commercial pigment grade TiO2 was not harmful to terrestrial isopods but reduced leaf litter fragmentation.

We investigated the effects of a commercial pigment grade rutile TiO2 on the terrestrial isopod Porcellio scaber in three locations that differed in terms of abiotic and biotic conditions: the laboratory, open air, and the closed barn. Mortality and isopod energy reserves (digestive gland total proteins, lipids and carbohydrates) were not affected following 14days exposure to up to 1000mg TiO2 per kg dry leaves (mg/kg) under any experimental scenario. However, in the field tests, isopods consumption of TiO2-coated leaves was reduced compared to that of uncoated leaves and the decrease was not dose-dependent.

Differences in soil solution chemistry between soils amended with nanosized CuO or Cu reference materials: implications for nanotoxicity tests.

Soil toxicity tests for metal oxide nanoparticles often include micrometer-sized oxide and metal salt treatments to distinguish between toxicity from nanometer-sized particles, non-nanometer-sized particles, and dissolved ions. Test result will be confounded if each chemical form has different effects on soil solution chemistry. We report on changes in soil solution chemistry over 56 days-the duration of some standard soil toxicity tests-in three soils amended with 500 mg/kg Cu as nanometer-sized CuO (nano), micrometer-sized CuO (micrometer), or Cu(NO3)2 (salt).