Influence of Al₂O₃/Pr Nanoparticles on Soil, Air and Water Microorganisms

One of the greatest challenges for science nowadays is the protection of the natural environment. Synthetic nanoparticles are released into the environment with industrial and household wastes, and their release can be expected to increase constantly with increasing use of nanoparticles in industry and their increasing share in various consumer products. The penetration of nanoparticles into the water, soil, or air ecosystems may disturb seriously the functioning of the natural environment. In the present study we examined how the active aluminum nano-oxide in the gamma form used as a neutral carrier for the praseodymium (Pr) nanoparticles affected their behavior. Praseodymium is very useful in many branches of science and in everyday life, although in its free form, it is commonly considered to be cyto-toxic, eco-toxic, and phyto-toxic. Our experiments were aimed to find whether the aluminum nano-oxide can act as a nano-stabilizer for the metal nanoparticles, and also to examine whether their bounding on the carrier decreases or eliminates their toxicity to the soil or water microorganisms present in the natural environment. Our experiments have shown that the aluminum nano-oxide is suitable to function as a nano-stabilizer for the Pr nanoparticles. The Al₂O₃/Pr nanoparticles produced by the dry (conducted in an organic solvent) thermal decomposition of an organic precursor, are not ecotoxic, or less ecotoxic to bacteria isolated from environmental samples, in particular to gram-positive caryopsis of the Micrococcus and Staphylococcus genera isolated from air samples.