Studies reporting on potentially toxic interactions between aqueous fullerene nanoparticles (nC₆₀) and
microorganisms have been contradictory. When known confounding factors were avoided, growth yields of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli cultured in the presence and absence of independently prepared
lots of underivatized nC₆₀ were found not to be significantly different.
Ultraviolet-protective compounds, such as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) and related gadusols produced by some bacteria, fungi, algae, and marine invertebrates, are critical for the survival of reef-building corals and other marine organisms exposed to high-solar irradiance. These compounds have also been found in marine fish, where their accumulation is thought...
Positively-charged gold nanoparticles (0.8-nm core diameter) reduced yeast
survival, but not growth, at a concentration of 10 to 100 μg/ml. Among 17 resistant
deletion mutants isolated in a genome-wide screen, highly significant enrichment
was observed for respiration-deficient mutants lacking genes encoding proteins
associated with the mitochondrion.