Effect of humic acids on stabilization and algal toxicity of CuO nanoparticles in aqueous medium

Today, nanotechnological activities are increasing day by day. The most important product and waste of these activities, nanomaterials and nanoparticles (NP) appear in many areas of our lives, such as health, biomedical, textile, industry, electronics, renewable energy, environment, food and agriculture. The need for further investigation of the current and potential biological effects of NPs has arisen due to their increasing advancement, consumption and environmental emissions. In this thesis, the effect of different CuO NP concentrations (1-100 mg/L), prepared with probe sonication dispertion method in synthetic surface water samples having different water quality parameters (very soft - very hard, low - high alkalinity, pH 6.5 – 7.5), with presence and absence of different humic acid concentrations (0-10 mg/L) on NP stabilization and their ecotoxic effect on Chlorella vulgaris green-algae were determined. The results indicate an increase in ecotoxicity on algae due to high NP concentration. The stabilization of NPs in the presence of HA is also dependent on the NP concentration. Initially, stabilization occurred at low NP concentrations but then aggregation occurred over time, whereas stabilization status did not change at high NP concentrations. In addition, HA caused a decrease in ecotoxic effects on algae.