Multi-scale Investigations of the Environmental Transformation, Fate and Inhibitory Effects of Engineered Nanoparticles

工程纳米颗粒的环境转变、归宿和抑制作用的多尺度研究

• 批准号: RGPIN-2014-04235
• 负责人: Tufenkji, Nathalie
• 金额: $ 2.11万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=587685
• 关键词: Multi; scale; Investigations; Environmental; Transformation

Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) such as carbon nanotubes, silver nanoparticles (nAg), and metal oxides can now be found in over 1000 commercial products. Despite the numerous anticipated benefits of nanotechnology, there is great concern that we do not yet fully understand the environmental and health risks associated with this revolution. Currently, there are no ENP-specific regulations in effect in Canada, and environmental and public health protection agencies are scrambling to gather the data required to address the safety and regulatory questions related to nanotechnology. The U.S. National Research Council recently proposed a new research strategy for environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) aspects of ENPs, recommending that research should focus on critical elements such as physical, chemical, and biological transformations that will ultimately control ENP persistence, bioavailability, reactivity, and toxicity. The complex and dynamic nature of these transformations complicates our ability to predict the risks associated with the release of ENPs in our environment. Building on the outcomes of my previous NSERC Discovery grant, the 5-year goal of the proposed research program is to establish the impacts of common physical, chemical, and biological transformations on the transport, fate and inhibitory effects of selected ENPs in soil and aquatic environments. The proposed work is the first to systematically examine the complex effects of different physical, chemical and biological transformations on ENP fate and impacts at relevant long-term exposure times. The research will focus on two of the ENPs that are found in largest number of commercial products (nAg) or produced in the largest quantities (nTiO2). The long-term objective of the research program is to make influential contributions to global efforts to identify and quantify the environmental and public health risks associated with ENPs. Our research will provide the knowledgebase and the resources to pursue innovative research on colloidal phenomena in aqueous systems. Clearly, the potential impact of the research spans over a broad range of industrial, environmental and biomedical applications. The scientific approach will include controlled laboratory studies of ENP aggregation, dissolution, transport and inhibition/toxicity using state-of-the-art experimental techniques, including single-particle-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, nanoparticle tracking analysis, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, and hyperspectral imaging with enhanced darkfield microscopy. By systematically varying key environmental conditions and ENP properties (e.g., size, surface coating chemistry, core chemistry), we will develop functional relationships between measurable parameters and target end-points of EH&S risk assessment. To relate these controlled laboratory experiments to natural conditions, studies will also be conducted using soils and groundwater collected from Canadian geographical locations. This research with ENPs having carefully controlled but variable surface functionalization, sizes and core properties will make significant transformative contributions in supporting global environmental risk assessment efforts. The results of this research will be critical to Canadian ENP producers for the development of safe ENPs. The proposed research program prioritizes the training of HQP using an integrated multidisciplinary approach and a collaborative training environment. At least 3 Ph.D., 3 M.Eng., and 5 undergraduates will be integrated into a large research team where there is extensive existing experience. Students trained through this program will be of great value in the Canadian workforce in emerging areas of engineering and applied science.

工程纳米粒子(ENPs)，如碳纳米管、银纳米粒子(NAG)和金属氧化物，现在可以在1000多种商业产品中找到。尽管纳米技术有许多预期的好处，但人们非常关切的是，我们还没有完全了解与这场革命相关的环境和健康风险。目前，加拿大没有针对ENP的具体法规，环境和公共卫生保护机构正在争先恐后地收集必要的数据，以解决与纳米技术相关的安全和监管问题。美国国家研究委员会最近提出了一项关于ENP的环境、健康和安全(EH&S)方面的新研究战略，建议研究应集中在最终将控制ENP的持久性、生物利用度、反应性和毒性的关键元素，如物理、化学和生物转化。这些变化的复杂和动态性质使我们预测与环境中ENPs释放相关的风险的能力变得复杂。在我之前NSERC发现基金结果的基础上，拟议的研究计划的5年目标是确定常见的物理、化学和生物变化对土壤和水环境中选定的ENPs的运输、命运和抑制效果的影响。这项拟议的工作首次系统地研究了不同物理、化学和生物转变对ENP命运的复杂影响以及在相关长期暴露时间的影响。这项研究将集中在商业产品(NAG)中发现数量最多或产量最大的两种ENPs(NTi02)。该研究计划的长期目标是为识别和量化与ENPs相关的环境和公共卫生风险的全球努力做出有影响力的贡献。我们的研究将为开展水体系中胶体现象的创新性研究提供知识基础和资源。显然，这项研究的潜在影响跨越了广泛的工业、环境和生物医学应用。科学方法将包括使用最先进的实验技术对ENP的聚集、溶解、传输和抑制/毒性进行受控实验室研究，包括单粒子电感耦合等离子体质谱、纳米粒子跟踪分析、具有耗散监测的石英晶体微天平，以及具有增强暗场显微镜的高光谱成像。通过系统地改变关键环境条件和核电厂的性能(例如，尺寸、表面涂层化学、堆芯化学)，我们将建立可测量参数和EH&S风险评估目标终点之间的函数关系。为了将这些受控实验室实验与自然条件联系起来，还将使用从加拿大地理位置收集的土壤和地下水进行研究。这项研究具有谨慎可控但表面功能、大小和核心属性可变的ENPs，将在支持全球环境风险评估工作方面做出重大变革贡献。这项研究的结果将对加拿大ENP生产商开发安全的ENP至关重要。拟议的研究方案利用综合的多学科方法和协作培训环境，优先培训HQP。至少3名博士、3名工程学硕士和5名本科生将被整合到一个拥有广泛现有经验的大型研究团队中。通过该项目培训的学生将在加拿大新兴工程和应用科学领域的劳动力中发挥巨大价值。