Bioaccumulation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in green (Ulva sp.) and red (Palmaria palmata) seaweed

A bioaccumulation study in red (Palmaria palmata) and green (Ulva sp.) seaweed has been carried out after exposure to different concentrations of citrate-coated titanium dioxide nanoparticles (5 and 25 nm) for 28 days. The concentration of total titanium and the number and size of accumulated nanoparticles in the seaweeds has been determined throughout the study by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and single particle-ICP-MS (SP-ICP-MS), respectively. Ammonia was used as a reaction gas to minimize the effect of the interferences in the (48)Ti determination by ICP-MS. Titanium concentrations measured in Ulva sp. were higher than those found in Palmaria palmata for the same exposure conditions. The maximum concentration of titanium (61.96 ± 15.49 μg g(−1)) was found in Ulva sp. after 28 days of exposure to 1.0 mg L(−1) of 5 nm TiO(2)NPs. The concentration and sizes of TiO(2)NPs determined by SP-ICP-MS in alkaline seaweed extracts were similar for both seaweeds exposed to 5 and 25 nm TiO(2)NPs, which indicates that probably the element is accumulated in Ulva sp. mainly as ionic titanium or nanoparticles smaller than the limit of detection in size (27 nm). The implementation of TiO(2)NPs in Ulva sp. was confirmed by electron microscopy (TEM/STEM) in combination with energy dispersive X-Ray analysis (EDX). GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00604-023-05849-1.