Unraveling the toxicity of tire wear contamination in three freshwater species: from chemical mixture to nanoparticles

Tire wear particle (TWP) contamination is of growing concern as recent studies show the ubiquity and toxicity of this contaminant in various environmental compartments. The multidimensional aspect of TWPs makes it difficult to assess toxicity and predict impacts on ecosystems, as it combines a complex mixture of chemicals and can release micro- and nanoparticles when suspended in water. Our work aimed to shed light on the toxicity of the different components of TWP leachate, namely, the dissolved chemicals and the nanoparticle fractions, on three freshwater model species of different trophic levels: Chlorella vulgaris, Lemna minor, and Daphnia magna. Acute toxicity was observed for all three fractions in D. magna, and an additive effect was observed between the nanoparticles and dissolved chemicals. L. minor experienced phytotoxicity from the dissolved chemicals only with a decrease up to 50% in photosynthesis efficiency parameters. C. vulgaris showed minor signs of toxicity on apical endpoints in response to each of the fractions. Our study highlights that nanoparticles from TWP leachate that were mostly overlooked in several previous studies are as toxic as dissolved chemicals for the filter-feeder species D. magna, and we also show the toxicity to photosynthesis in aquatic plants.