Water Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa.
Molecules. 2021 Mar 4;26(5):1370. doi: 10.3390/molecules26051370.
Analytical limitations have constrained the determination of nanopollution character from real-world sources such as nano-enabled products (NEPs), thus hindering the development of environmental safety guidelines for engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). This study examined the properties of ENMs in 18 commercial products: sunscreens, personal care products, clothing, and paints-products exhibiting medium to a high potential for environmental nanopollution. It was found that 17 of the products contained ENMs; 9, 3, 3, and 2 were incorporated with nTiO, nAg, binaries of nZnO + nTiO, and nTiO + nAg, respectively. Commonly, the nTiO were elongated or angular, whereas nAg and nZnO were near-spherical and angular in morphology, respectively. The size ranges (width × length) were 7-48 × 14-200, 34-35 × 37-38, and 18-28 nm for nTiO, nZnO, and nAg respectively. All ENMs were negatively charged. The total concentration of Ti, Zn, and Ag in the NEPs were 2.3 × 10-4.3%, 3.4-4.3%, and 1.0 × 10-11.3 × 10%, respectively. The study determined some key ENM characteristics required for environmental risk assessment; however, challenges persist regarding the accurate determination of the concentration in NEPs. Overall, the study confirmed NEPs as actual sources of nanopollution; hence, scenario-specific efforts are recommended to quantify their loads into water resources.
分析上的局限性限制了从实际来源（如纳米功能产品 (NEP)）确定纳米污染特征，从而阻碍了针对工程纳米材料 (ENM) 的环境安全指南的制定。本研究检测了 18 种商业产品中 ENM 的特性：防晒霜、个人护理产品、服装和涂料，这些产品都具有较高的环境纳米污染潜力。结果发现，其中 17 种产品含有 ENM；9 种、3 种、3 种和 2 种分别掺入了 nTiO、nAg、nZnO+nTiO 和 nTiO+nAg。通常，nTiO 呈拉长或角状，而 nAg 和 nZnO 则呈近球形和角状。nTiO 的尺寸范围（宽×长）分别为 7-48×14-200nm、34-35×37-38nm 和 18-28nm。所有的 ENM 均带负电荷。NEP 中 Ti、Zn 和 Ag 的总浓度分别为 2.3×10-4.3%、3.4-4.3%和 1.0×10-11.3×10%。本研究确定了环境风险评估所需的一些关键 ENM 特征；然而，在准确确定 NEP 浓度方面仍存在挑战。总的来说，该研究证实了 NEP 是纳米污染的实际来源；因此，建议针对具体情况进行努力，以量化其进入水资源的负荷。
