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.

研究纳米塑料（NPs）对水生生物影响的研究使用的浓度比海洋中预测的浓度高2到7个数量级来跟踪NPs。这些研究将社区划分为两派，一派因观察到的生态毒理学效应而拉响警报，另一派预测环境中的NP浓度远低于任何阈值效应。实际上，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监测策略，适合目的的实验设计受到阻碍。使用14c标记的NPs和传统核技术，我们最近模拟了扇贝，长期暴露于环境现实的NP浓度（15微克/升）可能积累并达到NPs的身体负担，在那里，那些敲响警报的人观察到影响。令人惊讶的是，这表明NPs对生物体的影响已经超过了阈值，并且正在危害海洋生物群。“未知”将调查海洋中的NPs是否已经超过了“阈值效应”浓度？利用成功的放射性标记方法，UNSEEN将建立一种新的方法，利用离子束分析（IBA）和质谱成像（MSI），将NPs与元素和分子成像相关联。这种分析方法将为NPs的潜在影响提供独特的见解。UNSEEN的总体目标是超越仅仅对NPs在食物网中的分布进行定性评估，并生成定量的、空间分辨的毒物动力学和代谢组学数据。在实际慢性NP暴露后，NPs的定量组织分布将直接与空间分解代谢组学数据进行比较。这将为一种真正新颖的方法提供概念验证。《看不见的》解决了NPs是否在食物网中积累的关键问题，以及NPs是否在长期暴露后以符合环境实际的浓度危害水生生物。这里提出的方法是必不可少的，并将产生关于水生环境中NPs及其添加剂综合长期后果的独特，有价值和基础的知识。这对于制定有关塑料垃圾的适当管理战略至关重要。如果成功的话，UNSEEN将切实支持决策者改进对核动力项目的环境风险评估。预计本文提出的方法将使对新出现的污染物的研究发生逐步变化，并将允许研究其命运的许多不同方面（例如，转化，破碎，生物矿化，生物分布）。这一非常规方法将充分整合控制对NPs生物反应的过程，并提供对NPs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的新兴技术，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14c标记的NPs作为进行现实实验室研究的金标准。它是基础研究，将具有超越其总体目标的关键影响。例如，拟议的研究将对在生物医学研究中使用14C作为低水平示踪剂（即微量给药）产生巨大影响，而在生物医学研究中往往缺乏适当的方法。提出的方法是独特的，将允许进行超越最先进的突破性科学。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的相关专业知识。