Mitrano Denise M, Beltzung Anna, Frehland Stefan, Schmiedgruber Michael, Cingolani Alberto, Schmidt Felix
Process Engineering, Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering, Dubendorf, Switzerland.
Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Nat Nanotechnol. 2019 Apr;14(4):362-368. doi: 10.1038/s41565-018-0360-3. Epub 2019 Feb 4.
Research on the distribution and effects of particulate plastic has intensified in recent years and yet, due to analytical challenges, our understanding of nanoplastic occurrence and behaviour has remained comparatively elusive. However, process studies could greatly aid in defining key parameters for nanoplastic interactions within and transfers between technical and environmental compartments. Here we provide a method to synthesize nanoplastic particles doped with a chemically entrapped metal used as a tracer, which provides a robust way to detect nanoplastics more easily, accurately and quantitatively in complex media. We show the utility of this approach in batch studies that simulate the activated sludge process of a municipal waste water treatment plant and so better understand the fate of nanoplastics in urban environments. We found that the majority of particles were associated with the sludge (>98%), with an average recovery of over 93% of the spiked material achieved. We believe that this approach can be developed further to study the fate, transport, mechanistic behaviour and biological uptake of nanoplastics in a variety of systems on different scales.
近年来，关于颗粒塑料的分布和影响的研究不断加强，然而，由于分析方面的挑战，我们对纳米塑料的存在和行为的理解仍然相对模糊。不过，过程研究可以极大地帮助确定纳米塑料在技术和环境隔室内部相互作用以及在它们之间转移的关键参数。在此，我们提供一种合成掺杂有化学捕获金属作为示踪剂的纳米塑料颗粒的方法，这为在复杂介质中更轻松、准确和定量地检测纳米塑料提供了一种可靠的方法。我们展示了这种方法在模拟城市污水处理厂活性污泥过程的批次研究中的实用性，从而更好地了解纳米塑料在城市环境中的归宿。我们发现，大多数颗粒与污泥相关联（>98%），实现了对添加物质平均超过93%的回收率。我们相信，这种方法可以进一步发展，以研究纳米塑料在不同尺度的各种系统中的归宿、运输、作用机制和生物摄取情况。
