Aspects of the ecotoxicity of secondary fragments of the microplastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) isolated and in mixture with metallic and organic pollutants as a function of concentration and size"

• Grant number: 24/06037-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Renata Fracácio Francisco
• Grantee: Renata Fracácio Francisco
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Sorocaba. Sorocaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: cleoni dos santos carvalho ; Lino Felix Morales Paredes ; Maria da Graça Gama Melão ; Paulo Donato Frighetto

Abstract

Microplastics (PMs) have been considered emerging pollutants, defined as any synthetic solid particle or polymeric matrix, regular or irregular in shape and with sizes ranging from 1 ¼m to 5 mm. Once introduced into freshwater environments, ecotoxicological studies that allow estimating the biological effects of microplastics are essential to understand the problem and establish acceptable limits and possible treatments in order to maintain the protection of aquatic life and environmental balance. Research on the toxicity of different types, shapes, sizes, and concentrations of microplastics must occur in isolation so that it is possible to estimate the relationship between characteristics and concentrations with biological effects, understand the dynamics of these widely distributed pollutants, and estimate safe conditions of exhibition. However, for management and handling purposes, it is also necessary to ascertain the dimension of the environmental impact of microplastics when interacting with organic and metallic pollutants, making the study approach more realistic. Furthermore, it is important to assess the impact at different trophic levels. Given the above, the objective of this research will be to evaluate the toxicity aspects of fragments of secondary PMs of pure polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in different granulometric fractions (d75 µm; between 75µm and 105µm and between 300 µm and 425 µm), with representative concentrations of freshwater (330 particles. L-1) and sewage (980 particles. L-1) on different trophic levels: primary producers (microalgae) and consumers (zooplankton and adults of the fish species Danio rerio) The conditions described above will be tested in a mixture with metallic pollutants (metallic oxide nanoparticles and Cd, whose maximum concentrations allowed for the protection of aquatic life by CONAMA 357/05 and North American Environmental Protection Agency - US EPA/2016 are 10µg.L-1 and 7.9µg.L-1, respectively) and organic pollutant (chloroquine phosphate - representative values for surface water bodies - 0.6µg.L-1; 1.86µg.L-1 and safe concentrations estimated in the literature - 0.007µg.L -1). For this purpose, the biomarkers used will be bionomic, physiological, biochemical (total proteins; carbonyl proteins; triglycerides, glucose, LDH and MDH) and histological, quali-quantitative (branchial, gonadal, hepatic and nervous tissues). The test results will be statistically analyzed to determine the ecotoxicological impact of these isolated pollutants and in co-exposure. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MORALES-ESPINOZA, LESLIE L.; GEBARA, RENAN CASTELHANO; LONGO, ELSON; FRACACIO, RENATA. Microplastics in freshwater ecosystems: probabilistic environmental risk assessment and current knowledge in occurrence and ecotoxicological studies. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, v. 44, n. 1, p. 23-pg., 2025-01-06. (24/06037-8)