Ecotoxicity of Nanoparticles in Aquatic Environments: A Review Based on Multivariate Statistics of Meta-Data

Evaluation of environmental effects due to exposure to nanoparticles is a still partially unexplored frontier of research, although increasing use of these substances leads to the presumption of a notable increase in their emission in the near future. Current knowledge of possible impacts of nanoparticle emission on aquatic ecosystems (e.g. lagoons, estuaries, marine coasts) is not yet exhaustive in terms of the responses of aquatic species from different trophic levels to exposure to various nanoparticles types (different substances and particle sizes). This paper aims to collect and discuss recent data on ecotoxicological effects observed in aquatic species and to analyze, on a multivariate statistical basis, meta-data collected to evaluate relationships between nanoparticle size and ecotoxicological responses observed in several aquatic species with regard to the most commonly used substances (TiO2, ZnO).