Monitoring and characterization of microplastics photoaging combining vibrational spectroscopy approaches and toxic potential evolution

• Grant number: 22/15586-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Rômulo Augusto Ando
• Grantee: Bárbara Rani Borges
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/11983-4 - Spectroscopy signal enhancement: nanomaterials, theory, and computer simulation, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/07778-1 - Nanoplastic-cell interactions: spectroscopic analysis and potential toxicity, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

The microplastic widespread pollution is raising and growing concerns about its harmful effects on livingorganisms. The establishment of the hazard associated with the occurrence of this pollutant in the environmentcan only be properly carried out if based on multi and interdisciplinary data, with an abundance survey andclassification of physical characteristics and on the chemical composition of microplastics (MP). Raman andinfrared spectroscopy are indispensable tools for the analysis of microplastics. Most of the analytical studiesfocused on MP are based on the detection and identification of the polymers that make up the particles. On theother hand, plastic debris in the environment undergoes chemical and physical degradation processes that leadnot only to mechanical fragmentation, but also to chemical transformation, increasing the toxic potential of theseparticles. In the present research project, the reference MP (polyethylene - PE; polypropylene - PP; polystyrene -PS; polyethylene terephthalate - PET; and polyvinyl chloride - PVC), with sizes of 5 and 30 ¼m in diameter, will beartificially aged in a photoaging chamber, equipped with a UV lamp, to investigate and characterize its degradationprocesses (photo-oxidation). For comparative purposes, MP will be simultaneously exposed to natural solarradiation. For the characterization of virgin and aged MP, they will be submitted to analysis by Ramanspectroscopy and by FTIR, aiming at extensive monitoring of the degradation stages of the material. At the end ofthe pre-defined photoexposure periods (3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months), the artificially andnaturally photoaged MP will be used in toxicity tests to assess whether aging is a decisive factor for the responseof aquatic biota. The test organism that will be used will be a freshwater crustacean, Hyalella azteca, which will beevaluated for mortality, ingestion, egestion and biochemical changes.

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)

RANI-BORGES, BARBARA; GOMES, ERANDY; MARICATO, GUILHERME; LINS, LUIS HENRIQUE FRANCA DE CARVALHO; DE MORAES, BEATRIZ ROCHA; LIMA, GISLAINE VANESSA; CORTES, LUIS GUILHERME FRANCA; TAVARES, MARCOS; PEREIRA, PEDRO HENRIQUE CIPRESSO; ANDO, ROMULO AUGUSTO; et al. Unveiling the hidden threat of microplastics to coral reefs in remote South Atlantic islands. Science of The Total Environment, v. 897, p. 10-pg., 2023-11-01. (22/15586-0)