Stable isotope tracing of nanomaterials in plants

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With the quick development of nanotechnology, there is an urgency for environmentally relevant exposure studies of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in plants that can be used for comprehensive risk assessment. Current studies on ENMs in plants, however, concentrate on effects at environmentally unrealistic concentrations (usually 100, 1,000 or sometimes 10,000 times higher than the predicted environmental concentrations) due to analytical limitations. Stable isotope tracing of NMs will allow to overcome these limitations and make the utilisation of environmentally relevant concentrations possible. It will also help distinguish the elemental background present in plants from the introduced labelled NMs. For this reason, this research project aims to (i.) study the behaviour and fate of ENMs in plants; (ii.) provide quantitative data on the uptake of NMs; (iii.) evaluate their bioavailability and potential phytotoxic effects at different plant growth stages at environmentally relevant concentrations by using labelled ENMs (including NMs such as Ag NMs and Zn NMs). After the completion of an exposure experiment, samples will be collected and analysed in the clean room and mass spectrometry facilities at Imperial College London. The project will aim to help policy makers assess the hazardous behaviour of ENMs in the environment.