Microplastics and the association with Contaminants of Emerging Concern in aquatic systems: sorption, bioaccessibility, toxicity and mass balance using ecosystem models

• Grant number: 23/10312-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Dayana Moscardi dos Santos
• Grantee: Dayana Moscardi dos Santos
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: São Carlos
• Associated researchers: Pedro Sergio Fadini ; Roberta Cerasi Urban

Abstract

Aquatic environments are continuously vulnerable to the introduction of emerging contaminants from sewage treatment plants and in natura effluents. Among these contaminants, xenoestrogens deserve mention as they mimic estrogen's action in organisms, affecting the health and equilibrium of the ecosystem. Additionally, the widespread presence of microplastics (MP) in the environment is a growing concern. These microplastics impact the dynamics of contaminants, serving as both sources and sinks for these compounds in abiotic matrices and associated biota. The present project aims to study the behavior of the estrogens: estrone (E1), 17² estradiol (E2), estriol (E3) e 17± ethinylestradiol (EE2); as well as bisphenol A (BPA); and triclosan (TCS) in the aquatic environment. It aims to study their distribution and transformation across various compartments such as water, suspended particulate matter, sediment, and biota. The project also seeks to assess their bioaccessibility in the presence of microplastics. To determine these contaminants in the matrices, analytical methodologies will be optimized and validated for LC-MS/MS analysis. Sediment sorption tests, conducted through batch testing, and bioaccessibility analysis using chemical prediction methods will be employed to predict the environmental behavior. Furthermore, mass balance studies will be conducted using ecosystem models (microcosm) in the second phase of the project. These studies aim to predict the fate and fractionation of the contaminants in the aquatic environment and toxicity, serving as a crucial tool for environmental risk analysis of these emerging contaminants. (AU)