Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Using Caenorhabditis elegans for Studying Trans- and Multi-Generational Effects of Toxicants
Published on: July 29, 2019
New insight into the toxic effects of chloramphenicol and roxithromycin to algae using FTIR spectroscopy
Qian Xiong1, Li-Xin Hu2, You-Sheng Liu2
1State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; The Environmental Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Abstract:
Antibiotics have been frequently detected in the aquatic environment, and they may affect aquatic organisms such as algae. Here we investigated toxicity of chloramphenicol (CAP) and roxithromycin (ROX) on four species of green algae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Scenedesmus quadricauda, Scenedesmus obliquus, and Scenedesmus acuminatus) at biochemical level by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results revealed that both CAP and ROX had negative effects on algal growth and caused alterations of biochemical components. The toxic effects varied among the four algal species and S. acuminatus was found to be less sensitive than the other three species to the antibiotics. Even with similar mechanism of action, ROX displayed more adverse effects to algae than CAP. Both antibiotics could affect algae by inhibiting fatty acid synthesis and promoting protein and DNA aggregation, thus leading to accumulation of lipid peroxidation products, increment of the loose β-sheet structure protein and transformation of B-DNA to Z-DNA. The findings from this study revealed the toxic mechanism of antibiotics to algae at the biochemical level.
More Related Videos
05:44Insights into the Interactions of Amino Acids and Peptides with Inorganic Materials Using Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy
Published on: March 6, 2017
05:27Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication: A Functional Biomarker to Assess Adverse Effects of Toxicants and Toxins, and Health Benefits of Natural Products
Published on: December 25, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Spectroscopy: Effects of Temperature
At thermal equilibrium, the relative populations of excited and ground state atoms can be estimated using the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. For example, an increase in temperature...
Other Algae
Overview of Algae
Red Algae
Green Algae
Toxic Reactions: Overview
Toxicity falls into two primary categories: local and systemic.
Local toxicity appears at the exposure site, such as protein denaturation caused by caustic substances.
In contrast, systemic toxicity requires the toxic agent's absorption and distribution,...