Do titanium dioxide nanoparticles and chlorinated organic compounds influence each other's uptake and toxicity in fish? A multi-angle and -level approach towards a better understanding of the interaction and hazard of emerging nanomaterials and traditiona

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Engineered nanomaterials represent a novel class of contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. Their co-existence and interaction with traditional environmental pollutants, that is chemicals, could increase their respective hazards to aquatic biota due to combined toxicological effects. Of particular concern in this regard is that the nano-sized materials (1 - 100 nm) could be able to cross biological barriers, which are typically insurmountable for larger-sized particles and thereby, taking into account their high specific surface area and adsorption ability, act as vector for surface-bound toxicants (Trojan horse-effect). However, to this day there is only little knowledge on the occurrence and consequence of these processes in aquatic organisms, particularly in fish. The combination effects between one of the most abundant nanomaterials and one of the most concerning group of persistent organic environmental pollutants, namely titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) and chlorinated organic compounds, are so far even completely unknown. The overall objective of this project is therefore to assess if TiO2 NPs and chlorinated organic compounds can influence each other's uptake and toxicity in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Specifically the project aims to answer the following research questions: - Can TiO2 NPs act as vector for surface-adsorbed chlorinated organic compounds and transport them across the plasma membrane of fish cells thereby increasing their intracellular availability and effect? - Do mixtures of TiO2 NPs and chlorinated organic compounds exhibit enhanced effects with regard to shared toxicity endpoints at the cellular level? - Can TiO2 NPs facilitate the uptake of chlorinated organic compounds through fish gill epithelia? - Do TiO2 NPs and chlorinated organic compounds influence each other's accumulation, distribution and toxicity in fish tissues and organs?