Collaborative Research: NanoFARM (Fate and effects of agriculturally relevant materials)

1530563（Lowry）/1530594（Unrine）纳米农用化学品的开发正在迅速进行。 纳米农业肥料和农药比任何其他用途的人造纳米材料（MNM）具有更大的直接，大规模引入环境的潜力。然而，纳米增强农业化学品对陆地生态系统的影响研究不足，而且在很大程度上是未知的。 此外，这些MNM的特性及其在土壤中的复杂行为使得难以使用传统化学品的风险评估框架来预测其在土壤中的命运。 这个国际跨学科项目解决了有关土壤特性，MNM特性，MNM浓度和转化如何影响土壤中农业相关金属（氢）氧化物MNM的时空行为及其被重要作物植物（包括小麦和番茄）吸收的知识方面的重要差距。 此外，还将评估潜在毒性、土壤生物的吸收以及长期生态影响的可能性。 还将开发跟踪和表征土壤中实际浓度的MNM的新方法。 这些新知识将有助于了解与农产品中使用的MNM相关的风险，但也有助于设计更安全，更有效的纳米农药和肥料。MNM随着它们在土壤中的老化而不断改变大小，成分和分布。 NMN在土壤中的颗粒性质和固有的不稳定性使得许多用于评估环境命运的测试方法不适合未经修改的MNM。 这些特征也使得MNM的命运可能以传统化学品所不具备的方式依赖于浓度。关于土壤中MNM的变化率的信息，以及这些变化如何影响土壤和孔隙水之间的NMN的分布，以及随着时间的推移MNM的生物利用度和毒性是迫切需要的，以准确地评估命运和毒性潜力，并能够开发现实的和特定地点的模型NMN的命运和影响。该项目解决了有关土壤性质，MNM性质，MNM浓度和反应动力学如何影响金属氧化物MNM启用农药和肥料在土壤中的空间和时间行为的知识方面的重要差距。 具体而言，主要指标将评估这些变量如何影响土壤中的转化和分布、对土壤生物的毒性和多代影响、生物累积/营养转移、植物利用率，从而评估消费主要粮食作物对生态影响或人类接触的可能性。 该项目还将开发跟踪土壤中MNM的新方法，并为评估农业相关MNM的命运，生物利用度和毒性潜力的新测定提供指导。 PI侧重于商业上用作杀虫剂或作为微量营养素肥料添加剂销售的铜基和锌基金属（氢）氧化物。 拟议的研究将提供对农产品中使用的MNM的命运和风险的更全面的了解，通过增加对这些产品的风险和益处如何与MNM特性相关的了解，促进基于纳米材料的农产品的有效和安全设计，并提供可应用于基于MNM的农产品的简单筛选测试，以预测其命运和毒性风险。总的来说，该项目将创建强大的模型和验证的分析方法，用于评估MNM增强的农药和肥料的环境影响，并为农产品的安全设计及其管理提供基于科学的方法。 项目？研究结果将促进美国和欧盟之间一致的科学法规的制定，并促进农产品（农用化学品和食品）的不间断贸易。教育活动将包括与他们的行业合作伙伴提供实习机会，在他们的国际合作伙伴的实验室轮换，并作为CEINT REU计划的一部分，每年接待两名本科生。

1530563(Lowry)/1530594(Unrine)The development of nano-enabled agricultural chemicals is proceeding rapidly. Nano-enabled agricultural fertilizers and pesticides have a greater potential for direct, massive introduction of manmade nanomaterials (MNMs) into the environment than any other use of MNMs. However, the effects of nano-enhanced agricultural chemicals on terrestrial ecosystems are inadequately studied and largely unknown. Moreover, the properties of these MNMs, and their complex behaviour in soils makes predicting their fate in soils difficult using the risk assessment framework for traditional chemicals. This international interdisciplinary project addresses essential gaps in knowledge about how soil properties, MNM properties, MNM concentration, and transformations affect the spatial and temporal behaviour of agriculturally relevant metal (hydr)oxide MNMs in soils and their uptake by important crop plants including wheat and tomato. In addition, the toxicity potential, uptake into soil organisms, and potential for long-term ecological impacts will be assessed. New methods to track and characterize MNMs in soil at realistic concentrations will be also developed. This new knowledge will help to understand the risks associated with MNMs used in agricultural products, but also help to design safer and more effective nano-enabled pesticides and fertilizers.MNMs are constantly changing size, composition, and distribution as they age in soils. The particulate nature and inherent instability of NMNs in soils makes many of the test methods for assessing environmental fate unsuitable for MNMs without modification. These features also make MNM fate likely to be concentration dependent in ways that traditional chemicals are not. Information about the rates of change of MNMs in soils, and how these changes affect the distribution of NMNs between soil and pore water, and bioavailability and toxicity of MNMs over time is acutely needed to accurately assess fate and toxicity potential, and to be able to develop realistic and site-specific models for NMN fate and effects. This project addresses essential gaps in knowledge about how soil properties, MNM properties, MNM concentration, and reaction kinetics affect the spatial and temporal behaviour of metal-oxide MNM-enabled pesticides and fertilizers in soils. Specifically, the PIs will assess how these variables influence transformation and distribution in soils, toxicity and multigenerational effects on soil organisms, bioaccumulation/trophic transfer, phytoavailability, and therefore the potential for ecological impacts or human exposures from consumption of key food crops. This project will also develop novel methods to track MNMs in soils and will provide guidance for new assays for assessing fate, bioavailability, and toxicity potential of agriculturally relevant MNMs. The PIs focus on Cu- and Zn-based metal (hydr)oxides that are used commercially as pesticides or are marketed as micronutrient fertilizer additives. The proposed study will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the fate and risks of MNMs used in agricultural products, facilitate efficient and safe design of nanomaterial-based agriculture products through increasing understanding of how the risks and benefits of these products relate to the MNM properties, and provide simple screening tests that can be applied to MNM-based agriculture products to predict their fate and toxicity risks. Overall, this project will create robust models and validated assays for the evaluation of environmental impacts of MNM-enhanced pesticides and fertilizers, and provide a science-based approach to safe design of agriculture products and their management. The project?s findings will facilitate development of consistent science-based regulations and promote uninterrupted trade of agricultural products (both agrochemicals and food) between the US and the EU. Educational activities will include providing internship opportunities with their industry partners, lab rotations at their international partners, and hosting two undergraduate students per year as part of the CEINT REU program.