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

1530563(劳瑞)/1530594(UNRINE)纳米农用化学品的开发进展迅速。与任何其他用途相比，纳米农业肥料和农药在将人造纳米材料(MNM)直接、大规模引入环境方面具有更大的潜力。然而，纳米强化的农用化学品对陆地生态系统的影响还没有得到充分的研究，而且在很大程度上是未知的。此外，这些MNM的性质以及它们在土壤中的复杂行为使得使用传统化学品的风险评估框架很难预测它们在土壤中的命运。这一国际跨学科项目解决了关于土壤特性、MNM特性、MNM浓度和转化如何影响土壤中与农业相关的金属(Hydr)氧化物MNm的时空行为以及包括小麦和番茄在内的重要农作物对它们的吸收的基本知识空白。此外，还将评估毒性潜力、对土壤生物的吸收以及对长期生态影响的潜力。还将开发新的方法来跟踪和表征土壤中实际浓度的MNMS。这一新知识将有助于了解与农产品中使用的MNM相关的风险，也有助于设计更安全、更有效的纳米使能农药和肥料。MNM在土壤中的老化过程中会不断改变其大小、组成和分布。土壤中NMNS的颗粒性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用于未经修改的MNMS。这些特点也使得MNM的命运很可能依赖于浓度，而传统化学品则不是。迫切需要了解土壤中NMN的变化速度，以及这些变化如何影响NMN在土壤和孔隙水之间的分布，以及MNMS随时间的生物有效性和毒性，以准确评估NMN的命运和毒性潜力，并能够开发出NMN命运和影响的现实和特定地点的模型。该项目解决了关于土壤特性、MNM特性、MNM浓度和反应动力学如何影响土壤中启用金属氧化物MNM的杀虫剂和肥料的空间和时间行为的知识的基本空白。具体地说，投资参考指数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、生物积累/营养转移、植物可用性，以及因消费主要粮食作物而对生态影响或人类暴露的可能性。该项目还将开发新的方法来跟踪土壤中的MNMs，并将为评估与农业相关的MNMs的归宿、生物利用度和毒性潜力的新方法提供指导。PIs的重点是铜和锌基金属(氢氧化物)氧化物，这些氧化物在商业上用作杀虫剂，或作为微营养素肥料添加剂销售。拟议的研究将使人们更全面地了解农产品中使用的MNM的命运和风险，通过更多地了解这些产品的风险和收益与MNM特性的关系，促进基于纳米材料的农产品的高效和安全设计，并提供可应用于MNM农产品的简单筛选测试，以预测其命运和毒性风险。总体而言，该项目将为评估MNM强化农药和化肥的环境影响创建可靠的模型和经过验证的分析，并为农产品的安全设计及其管理提供一种以科学为基础的方法。S的研究结果将有助于制定一致的以科学为基础的法规，并促进美国和欧盟之间农产品(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进行实验室轮换，以及作为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.