Vol. 7, Issue 10, Part A (2025)

Nanoparticles are used in many industrial and household applications, as evidenced by their continually rising manufacturing volume. This economic success is accompanied by the possibility of negative consequences on natural systems and their existence in the environment. Significant advancements in our knowledge of the origins, destiny, and impacts of nanoparticles have been made in the past ten years. Lately, field measurements of concentrations have been able to validate predictions of environmental concentrations based on modelling techniques. However, as discussed elsewhere, analytical methods are currently being developed to identify nanoparticles in complex environmental matrices and to more accurately and effectively define and measure them. At the same time, there has been a growing interest in how nanoparticles affect both terrestrial and aquatic systems. The ability of inert nanoparticles to interact with biota through physical pathways like biological surface coating is a recurring phenomenon, even though the significance of metal ions generated by nanoparticles for their toxicity is still up for debate. This and other factors affect how exposed organisms develop and behave. We discuss current developments in nano ecotoxicology in terrestrial and aquatic systems in this work, but we also point out significant gaps which need to be filled in the future.