Revealing the hidden identity and toxicity of priority chemical pollutants released during microplastic degradation and additive leaching in marine...

…以及沿海环境。项目概述：海洋塑料碎片分解产生的微纳米级塑料对海洋和沿海生态系统构成严重威胁。众所周知，微塑料（MPs）在海洋环境中会通过磨损（物理）、高级氧化过程（非生物）和生物降解（生物）进行降解，导致未与聚合物基体化学结合的添加剂浸出。这些转化很难在实验室条件下重现；它们极大地增加了化学复杂性和表征MPs及其衍生有机物的分析挑战。该项目解决了一个重要问题，即微塑料（MP）降解产生的新化学污染物是未来海洋监测和沿海水域合规监测的优先目标。成功的成果将包括确定mp渗滤液中的持久性化学添加剂，这些添加剂不会降解并对海洋生态系统构成有毒威胁。技术总结：MP降解导致未与聚合物基体化学结合的添加剂浸出，这大大增加了化学复杂性和表征MP及其衍生有机物的分析挑战。因此，降解的多聚物和多聚物渗滤液的降解机制和生态毒理学影响仍然知之甚少，没有立法文书/政策为环境评估提供指导方针。这项研究的目的是开发一种新的多模式方法，结合最先进的分析技术，对环境MPs和潜在有毒降解产物的复杂混合物进行全面的成分分析。通过使用非目标方法，还可以对利益相关者和其他海洋研究团队确定的感兴趣的化学组进行回顾性“挖掘”。将使用最近开发的标准化生态毒理学测试来评估降解的多氯联苯和多氯联苯渗滤液的生物风险，同时使用最新的化学计量方法确定多氯联苯在海洋环境中浸出和降解过程中释放的优先污染物清单。

...and coastal environments.Project Summary: Micro- and nanoscale plastics produced from the decomposition of marine plastic debris pose a severe threat to marine and coastal ecosystems. Microplastics (MPs) are known to undergo degradation in the marine environment through abrasion (physical), advanced oxidation processes (abiotic), and biological degradation (biotic), resulting in the leaching of additives not chemically bound to the polymer matrix. These transformations are difficult to reproduce under laboratory conditions; they dramatically increase the chemical complexity and analytical challenge of characterising MPs and MP-derived organics.This project addresses the important question of which emerging chemical contaminants from microplastic (MP) degradation are priority targets for future marine surveillance and compliance monitoring of coastal waters. Successful outcomes will include the identification of persistent chemical additives in MP-leachate, that do not degrade and pose a toxic threat to marine ecosystems. Technical Summary: MP degradation results in the leaching of additives not chemically bound to the polymer matrix, which dramatically increases the chemical complexity and analytical challenge of characterising MPs and MP-derived organics. Consequently, the degradation mechanisms and ecotoxicological effects of degraded MPs and MP-leachates remain poorly understood, with no legislative instruments/policies that provide guidelines for environmental assessments.The aim of this studentship is to develop a novel multimodal approach, employing a combination of state-of-the-art analytical technologies to conduct a comprehensive compositional analysis of environmental MPs and complex mixture of potentially toxic degradation products. By using a non-targeted approach, the data can also be retrospectively 'mined' for chemical groups of interest identified by stakeholders and other marine research teams. Recently developed standardised ecotoxicological tests will be used to assess the biological risk of the degraded MP and MP-leachate, alongside the use of the latest chemometric methods to identify a list of priority pollutants released during leaching and degradation of MPs in the marine environment.