Uptake and depuration behaviors of radioactively labeled single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes by Lumbriculus variegatus

ENVR 91

Elijah J. Petersen, epeterse@umich.edu1, Qingguo Huang, qingguoh@umich.edu2, and Walter J. Weber Jr.2. (1) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 2200 Bonisteel Blvd., Room 1215, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, (2) Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2200 Bonisteel Rm. 1213, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2099
Carbon nanotubes comprise a class of materials that has attracted significant research attention due to their potential for breakthroughs in a broad range of applications. Despite this expected widespread usage, their environmental and human health risks are largely unknown in large part as a result of a lack of a method to quantify the nanotubes in environmental medias. We here report the direct incorporation of the carbon-14 isotope into single- or multi-walled carbon nanotubes using a modified chemical vapor deposition process. These novel materials were then used to assess the uptake and depuration behaviors of carbon nanotubes spiked to sediments by the oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus. Bioaccumulation factors for single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes were almost an order-of-magnitude less than those for pyrene. This low uptake of carbon nanotubes likely results from a combination of the nanotube's insolubility, expected strong sorption interactions with organic matter and large molecular size. This paper marks the first time that the uptake and depuration behaviors of a nanomaterial have been quantified.
 

The C. Ellen Gonter Environmental Chemistry Awards
1:30 PM-4:35 PM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Boston Park Plaza -- Beacon Hill Rm, Oral

Division of Environmental Chemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007