Research interests

Area of research – complex study and comparison of the action of newly developed and natural nano- and micro-sized substances on organisms of different trophic levels: algae Scenedesmus quadricauda, crustaceans Daphnia magna and for plants Lepidium sativum; using standardized toxicological methods to estimate the danger of these substances for organisms and forecast possible risk for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems; study possibilities of metals removal from water and soil by nanocomposites. I analyze peculiarities of biological effects depending on the size, duration of exposure, and concentration of the studied nanomaterials and determine peculiarities and regularities of accumulation of these substances in organisms. I try to create an empirical model explaining the mechanisms of exposure to nano- and micro-sized substances on aquatic and terrestrial organisms of different trophic levels.

Annotation of the dissertation

The goal is to comprehensively investigate and compare the effects of newly developed and natural nano- and micro-sized substances on organisms of different trophic levels (algae, crustaceans, and plants); assess the danger of these substances to organisms and predict the possible risk to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems; to investigate the possibilities of removing metals from water using nanocomposites. Using physico-chemical, toxicological, physiological and biochemical methods, nanoparticles (ND) (Co-Fe (CoFe2O4) and quantum dots (QDs)), harmful cyanobacterial bloom (cyanoHAB) biomass, sorbents – nanocomposites (GO), metals Cr (III), Cu (II), Ni (II) and Zn (II) mixtures (MM); the effect of landfill leachate (SF) on the test organisms Scenedesmus quadricauda, Daphnia magna and Lepidium sativum. An assessment of the ecotoxicological effects of multicomponent mixtures (SF)) and (cyanoHAB biomass) was performed based on the growth and mortality of organisms of different trophic levels and developmental stages. The study revealed different effects of SF and cyanoHAB biomass on aquatic organisms. The results obtained allow us to use the most sensitive test organisms of different trophic levels to assess the ecotoxicological risk in order to better understand the effects of anthropogenic pollution on the functioning of the food web. The effect of synthesized Co-Fe ND on the biological (morphological, physiological, and biochemical parameters) of Lepidium sativum was evaluated, the parameters studied (seed germination, relative growth and biomass of roots and above-ground parts of plants, amounts of chlorophylls a and b, carotenoids, malondialdehyde (MDA)) changes depending on the magnetic ND concentration and size. Thus, the results of the toxicological effects of Co-Fe NDs on L. sativum not only deepen the knowledge of the nanophytotoxicity of ferromagnetic NDs, but are also useful for ecotoxicological studies related to environmental risk assessment. The phytotoxicity of graphene oxide (GO) was investigated using Lepidium sativum as a test organism and the ability of GO to modify metal uptake in plants exposed to a mixture of metals was evaluated. Our data show that MIX, GO and MIX+GO concentrations did not affect seed germination, root growth and root and shoot biomass in most cases, but they change photosynthetic processes, enhance the production of carotenoids and H2O2; also activate lipid peroxidation. The effect of GO on the accumulation of the investigated metals (Cu, Cr(III), Ni and Zn) in the roots and shoots of L. sativum exposed to MIX was determined, and this is related to the ability of GO to adsorb metals from the medium, so GO at low concentrations may be a useful tool for water decontamination. These studies revealed that GO is a promising and advanced metal adsorbent and can be used to reduce the impact of heavy metals in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The effects of Cd-based QDs on the growth and population structure of the green alga Scenedesmus quadricauda grown in different media such as lake water, artesian water and artificial algal growth medium were also investigated. Inhibition of algal growth was found to be highly dependent on the test medium. Algal growth in artificial algal growth medium with QDs was significantly higher than in other media. Whereas, algae is a key part of the food chain in the aquatic environment, therefore, present study provides a useful information on how nanomaterials can affect the environment and how the environment can affect nanoparticles.