UNSEEN: Are unseen plastic particles in the global ocean already beyond the "no-effect" concentrations?

看不见的：全球海洋中看不见的塑料颗粒是否已经超出了“无影响”浓度？

• 批准号: NE/X012891/1
• 负责人: Maya Al-Sid-Cheikh
• 金额: $ 10.3万
• 依托单位: University of Surrey
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FX012891%2F1
• 关键词: UNSEEN; unseen; plastic; particles; global

Studies investigating effects of nanoplastics (NPs) on aquatic organisms used concentrations between 2 to 7 order-of-magnitudes higher than those predicted in ocean to track NPs. These studies divided the community between those sounding the alarm due to the observed ecotoxicological effects, and those predicting that NP concentrations in the environment are far below any threshold-effect. In reality, most experiments were inadequately designed. Fit-to-purpose experimental designs have been hindered by a lack of appropriate NP models, tracking methods, and monitoring strategies for environmentally realistic concentrations. Using 14C-labelled NPs and conventional nuclear techniques, we recently modelled that scallop, chronically exposed to environmentally realistic NP concentrations (15 ug/L) might accumulate and reach NPs body burden where effects are observed by those sounding the alarm. Astonishingly, this suggests that NPs are already beyond threshold-effects in organisms and harming the marine biota. UNSEEN will investigate whether NPs in the oceans are already beyond "threshold-effect" concentrations? Using a successful radiolabelling approach, UNSEEN will establish a new methodology for correlative imaging of NPs with elemental and molecular imaging using ion beam analysis (IBA) and mass spectrometry imaging (MSI). This analytical approach will provide a unique insight into the potential effects of NPs.The overall goal of UNSEEN is to go beyond a mere qualitative evaluation of the distribution of NPs in the food web, and to generate quantitative, spatially-resolved toxicokinetic and metabolomic data. Quantitative tissue distributions of NPs, following realistic chronic NP exposures, will be directly compared to the spatially-resolved metabolomic data. This will provide a proof-of-concept for a truly novel approach. UNSEEN addresses key questions of whether NPs accumulate in the food-web and whether NPs are harming aquatic organisms at environmentally realistic concentrations after long-term exposures. The approach proposed here is essential and will produce unique, valuable and fundamental knowledge on the combined long-term consequences of NPs and their additives in aquatic environments. This is critical for developing appropriate management strategies regarding plastic litter. If successful, UNSEEN will indeed support policy makers in improving environmental risk assessments of NPs. It is envisioned that the approach proposed herein will enable a step-change in the research on contaminants of emerging concerns and will allow the study of many different aspects of their fates (e.g., transformation, fragmentation, biomineralization, biodistribution). The unconventional approach will fully integrate the processes that govern the biological responses to NPs and provide an understanding of the potential effects of NPs that could be translated to human health. UNSEEN chooses a highly innovative approach to address its research questions. It combines radiochemistry and very emergent technologies from biomedical sciences using ion beam analysis (IBA) and mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) to resolve important environmental questions. It will establish 14C-labelled NPs as a gold standard for performing realistic laboratory-based studies. It is fundamental research that will have a critical impact beyond its overall goal. The research proposed will, for instance, have a huge impact on the use of 14C as low-level tracer in biomedical studies (i.e. micro-dosing), where appropriate methods are often missing. The approach proposed is unique and will allow to perform ground-breaking science that goes beyond the state-of-the-art. UNSEEN builds a unique inter-disciplinary research team that integrates the relevant expertise in environmental analytical chemistry, radiochemistry and ion beam physics.

调查纳米塑料（NPs）对水生生物影响的研究使用了比海洋中预测的浓度高2至7个数量级的浓度来跟踪NPs。这些研究将社区分为两类：一类是由于观察到的生态毒理学效应而发出警报的社区，另一类是预测环境中NP浓度远低于任何阈值效应的社区。事实上，大多数实验都设计得不充分。由于缺乏适当的NP模型、跟踪方法和环境现实浓度的监测战略，因此，适合目的的实验设计受到阻碍。使用14 C标记的NP和传统的核技术，我们最近模拟的扇贝，长期暴露于环境现实的NP浓度（15微克/升）可能会积累，并达到NP的身体负担的影响，观察那些敲响警钟。令人惊讶的是，这表明纳米粒子已经超出了生物体的阈值效应，并对海洋生物群造成了危害。UNSEEN将调查海洋中的NPs是否已经超过“阈值效应”浓度？使用成功的放射性标记方法，UNSEEN将建立一种新的方法，用于使用离子束分析（IBA）和质谱成像（MSI）进行元素和分子成像的NP相关成像。这种分析方法将提供一个独特的洞察NPs的潜在影响。UNSEEN的总体目标是超越纯粹的NPs在食物网中的分布的定性评价，并生成定量的，空间分辨的毒代动力学和代谢组学数据。在现实的慢性NP暴露后，NP的定量组织分布将直接与空间分辨的代谢组学数据进行比较。这将为真正新颖的方法提供概念验证。UNSEEN解决了NPs是否在食物网中积累以及NPs是否在长期接触后以环境现实浓度危害水生生物的关键问题。这里提出的方法是必不可少的，并将产生独特的，有价值的和基本的知识的综合长期后果的纳米颗粒及其添加剂在水生环境中。这对于制定适当的塑料垃圾管理策略至关重要。如果成功的话，UNSEEN将确实支持决策者改进对NPs的环境风险评估。可以设想的是，本文提出的方法将使得对新兴关注的污染物的研究能够逐步改变，并且将允许研究它们命运的许多不同方面（例如，转化、碎裂、生物矿化、生物分布）。非常规方法将充分整合管理对NP的生物反应的过程，并提供对NP可能转化为人类健康的潜在影响的理解。UNSEEN选择了一种高度创新的方法来解决其研究问题。它结合了放射化学和生物医学科学中非常新兴的技术，使用离子束分析（IBA）和质谱成像（MSI）来解决重要的环境问题。它将建立14 C标记的纳米颗粒作为进行现实的实验室研究的金标准。基础研究将产生超越其总体目标的关键影响。例如，拟议的研究将对14 C作为生物医学研究中的低水平示踪剂（即微量给药）的使用产生巨大影响，因为通常缺少适当的方法。UNSEEN建立了一个独特的跨学科研究团队，整合了环境分析化学，放射化学和离子束物理学的相关专业知识。