Nanoscale battery cathode materials induce DNA damage in bacteria.

The increasing use of nanoscale lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (Li Ni Mn Co O, NMC) as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries poses risk to the environment. Learning toxicity mechanisms on molecular levels is critical to promote proactive risk assessment of these complex nanomaterials and inform their sustainable development. We focused on DNA damage as a toxicity mechanism and profiled in depth chemical and biological changes linked to DNA damage in two environmentally relevant bacteria upon nano-NMC exposure.