[WATER]Quantifying base-line titanium oxide manufactured nanoparticle concentrations in the aquatic environment

纳米科学和纳米技术关注的是纳米尺度，通常被定义为1到100纳米之间的尺寸。纳米粒子和其他纳米材料（NMs）的合成和使用是纳米技术的重要组成部分，正如英国皇家学会、英国皇家工程院和英国皇家环境污染委员会（http://www.nanotec.org.uk/finalReport.htm; http://www.nanotec.org.uk/finalReport.htm）最近的报告所详述的那样，纳米材料的使用显然在能源、医疗保健、消费品和其他领域具有许多经济、环境和社会效益。然而，纳米粒子的使用，特别是目前正在发生的和预计未来的大规模使用，已引起人们对上述机构和其他机构（如欧盟SCENIHR (http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_o_012.pdf)）以及更广泛的（如Wiesner等人（2006年）、Owen和Handy（2007年）、Klaine等人（2008年））对人类和环境健康的影响的关注。理想情况下，我们需要充分利用纳米技术的好处，同时确保环境不会受到不利影响。确定环境风险的一个最初的重要步骤是在真实环境系统中对纳米粒子的识别、量化和表征。从政策角度看，这个问题很重要；在英国政府（DEFRA的纳米技术研究协调小组http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/nanotech/research/pdf/nanoparticles-riskreport07.pdf）制定的19个研究目标（ROs）中，第9个目标是：优化、开发和应用能够测量土壤和水中纳米颗粒暴露的技术。此外，这些问题在最近由申请人（Alvarez et al, 2009）共同组织的国际研讨会上得到了充分认识，适当的分析和计量被认为可能是推进环境纳米颗粒研究的关键瓶颈。目的和目标总的目标是产生关于二氧化钛纳米颗粒在真实环境水生系统中可能浓度的数据。具体目标是：1)合成一套控制良好的同位素修饰二氧化钛NPs，用于实验室实验中的示踪剂。2)充分表征这些和商业上获得的二氧化钛NPs。3)比较天然和人工合成二氧化钛NPs的性能。4)量化实验室和自然系统中总钛和二氧化钛浓度。5)使用适当的指标估计人造NPs的浓度。

Nanoscience and nanotechnology are concerned with the nanoscale which is usually defined as being between 1 and 100 nm in size. The synthesis and use of nanoparticles and other nanomaterials (NMs) are significant parts of nanotechnology and there are clearly many economic, environmental and social benefits from the use of NMs as detailed in recent reports from Royal Society and Royal academy of Engineering and the Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution (http://www.nanotec.org.uk/finalReport.htm; http://www.nanotec.org.uk/finalReport.htm) in energy, in healthcare, consumer products and in other sectors. However, use of NMs, particularly on the vast scale at which is currently occurring and projected for the future, has led to concerns about human and environmental health effects from the bodies mentioned and from others such as the EU SCENIHR (http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_o_012.pdf) and more widely e.g. Wiesner et al (2006), Owen and Handy (2007), Klaine et al (2008). Ideally, we require full exploitation of the benefits of nanotechnology while ensuring the environment is not adversely affected. An initial important step forward in determining environmental risk is the identification, quantification and characterisation of nanoparticles in real environmental systems. This issue is seen as important in policy terms; of the 19 Research Objectives (ROs) produced by the UK government (DEFRA's Nanotechnology Research Coordination Group http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/nanotech/research/pdf/nanoparticles-riskreport07.pdf), number 9 is: Optimise, develop and apply technologies that enable the measurement of exposure to nanoparticles in soil and water. Further, such issues were fully recognised at a recent international workshop co-organised by the applicants (Alvarez et al, 2009) where appropriate analysis and metrology was seen as perhaps the key bottleneck to advancing environmental nanoparticle research. Aims and Objectives The overall aim is to generate data on the likely concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in real environmental aquatic systems. Specific objectives are: 1) To synthesise a set of well controlled isotopically modified titania NPs which will be used as tracers in laboratory based experiments. 2) To characterise fully these and commercially obtained titania NPs. 3) To compare properties of natural and manufactured titania NPs. 4) To quantify total titanium and titania concentrations in laboratory and natural systems. 5) To estimate the concentrations of manufactured NPs using appropriate metrics.