(115v) Nanoparticle Adhesion Leads to Impaired Locomotor Function and Mortality in Adult Drosophila

The study of nanomaterial interactions with living systems in the natural environment is in the early stages with many basic principles yet to be discovered. The fruit fly, Drosophila, is a superb model for study of genetics and cell biology with a long history of contribution to toxicology. Here we studied the effects of a panel of carbon nanomaterials (C60, carbon black, single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes) suspended in Drosophila larval food and found they were internalized in the larvae but were non-toxic, even at high concentrations that render the food optically dark. Upon extending the study to adults, we made the surprising finding that some carbon nanomaterials adhere to the external surface of Drosophila to such a degree that they overwhelm natural grooming mechanisms leading to whole-body coverage, impaired locomotor function, and early death. This novel contact toxicity was dependent on the size and structure of aggregates rather than the properties of the primary nanoparticles. The implications of these results for ecosystems and for the environmental transport of nanoparticles will be discussed.