Assessment of nano/microplastics impacts

The main objective of PLASTACTS is to provide a thorough understanding of the sources, fate of micro- and nanoplastics (N/MPs), and to develop an analytical protocol to identify, characterize and assess the impact of N/MPs. For this objective PLASTACTS will consider the development of environmentally relevant testing materials that better mirror the broad heterogeneity of naturally occurring N/MPs, as well the detection and occurrence in a real environment of macro, meso and microplastics, in order to support the holistic understanding of the plastic pollution in the environment. Moreover, the impact on biota of N/MPs with different composition, shape, size, and degradation state will be evaluated using well-established methods for the dynamics of uptake, accumulation and egestion in mussels.

Through diverse yet highly interconnected WGs, the project will bridge different research fields for more effective investigations regarding N/MP environmental pollution and impact. Each WG has clear objectives and activities, namely:

1) preparing true-to-life N/MPs with different composition, shape, size and degradation state (lab scale preparation and collection/retrieval in environment);

2) characterizing true-to-life N/MPs by a multitechnique approach based on morphological, spectroscopic, thermal and hyphenated techniques;

3) evaluating eco- and bio-corona formation and assessing N/MPs interaction with filter-feeding biota;

4) disseminating the project results and promoting their exploitation.

The project starts with the definition of the baseline scenario, analysing plastic items, taking into account a wide range of application sectors, from which N/MPs can be generated, and identifying the main factors influencing their formation. True-to-life N/MPs having different composition, shape, size and degradation state will be prepared at lab scale through mechanical fragmentation techniques, mimicking the environmental conditions of formation. The fragmentation of plastic waste retrieved from the environment will be also studied to obtain several model samples to be used to assess their impacts. N/MPs will be characterised with a multitechnique approach by using conventional and advanced plasmon-enhanced, chemical-physical, and analytical techniques. Bio-interactions (i.e., eco- and protein-corona) will be investigated to elucidate the adsorbome profile at the N/MPs interface. Finally, the N/MPs impact on filter-feeding biota by investigating the dynamics of uptake, accumulation and egestion in mussels experimentally contaminated with true-to-life N/MPs will be evaluated.