Lo Brutto Sabrina, Iaciofano Davide, Lo Turco Vincenzo, Potortì Angela Giorgia, Rando Rossana, Arizza Vincenzo, Di Stefano Vita
Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Science and Technology (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, I-90123 Palermo, Italy.
Department BioMorf, University of Messina, Viale Annunziata, Polo Universitario, 98168 Messina, Italy.
Toxics. 2021 Feb 4;9(2):31. doi: 10.3390/toxics9020031.
Micro and nanoplastics are harmful to marine life due to their high level of fragmentation and resistance to degradation. Over the past two decades, marine coastal sediment has shown an increasing amount of microplastics being a sort of trap for debris wastes or chemicals. In such an environment some species may be successful candidates to be used as monitors of environmental and health hazards and can be considered a mirror of threats of natural habitats. Such species play a key role in the food web of littoral systems since they are litter-feeders, and are prey for fishes or higher trophic level species. A preliminary investigation was conducted on five species of small-sized amphipod crustaceans, with the aim to understand if such an animal group may reflect the risk to ecosystems health in the central Mediterranean area, recently investigated for seawater and fish contamination. This study intended to gather data related to the accumulation of plasticizers in such coast dwelling fauna. In order to detect the possible presence of xenobiotics in amphipods, six analytes were scored (phthalic acid esters and non-phthalate plasticizers), identified and quantified by the gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. The results showed that among all the monitored contaminants, DEP and DiBP represented the most abundant compounds in the selected amphipods. The amphipod crustaceans analyzed were a good tool to detect and monitor plasticizers, and further studies of these invertebrates will help in developing a more comprehensive knowledge of chemicals spreading over a geographical area. The results are herein presented as a starting point to develop baseline data of plasticizer pollution in the Mediterranean Sea.
微塑料和纳米塑料由于其高度碎片化和抗降解性，对海洋生物有害。在过去二十年中，海洋海岸沉积物中微塑料的数量不断增加，它成为了一种碎片废物或化学物质的“陷阱”。在这样的环境中，一些物种可能是监测环境和健康危害的理想候选者，可被视为自然栖息地威胁的“镜子”。这类物种在沿海系统的食物网中起着关键作用，因为它们以垃圾为食，也是鱼类或更高营养级物种的猎物。对五种小型双壳甲壳类动物进行了初步调查，目的是了解这类动物群体是否能反映地中海中部地区生态系统健康面临的风险，该地区最近已对海水和鱼类污染情况进行了调查。这项研究旨在收集与这类栖息在海岸的动物体内增塑剂积累相关的数据。为了检测双壳类动物体内可能存在的外来生物，对六种分析物（邻苯二甲酸酯和非邻苯二甲酸酯增塑剂）进行了评分、通过气相色谱 - 质谱联用（GC - MS）方法进行了鉴定和定量。结果表明，在所有监测到的污染物中，DEP和DiBP是所选双壳类动物中含量最丰富的化合物。所分析的双壳甲壳类动物是检测和监测增塑剂的良好工具，对这些无脊椎动物的进一步研究将有助于更全面地了解化学物质在一个地理区域内的扩散情况。本文呈现的结果是开发地中海增塑剂污染基线数据的起点。
