Li Xiaona, He Feng, Wang Zhenyu, Xing Baoshan
Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, and School of Environment and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Energy and Carbon Reduction Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
Eco Environ Health. 2022 Nov 15;1(3):181-197. doi: 10.1016/j.eehl.2022.10.001. eCollection 2022 Sep.
Research on the environmental health of emerging contaminants is critical to understand their risks before causing severe harm. However, the low environmental concentrations, complex behaviors, and toxicology of emerging contaminants present enormous challenges for researchers. Here, we reviewed the research on the environmental health of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), one of the typical emerging contaminants, to enlighten pathways for future research on emerging contaminants at their initial exploratory stage. To date, some developed pretreatment methods and detection technologies have been established for the determination of ENMs in natural environments. The mechanisms underlying the transfer and transformation of ENMs have been systematically explored in laboratory studies. The mechanisms of ENMs-induced toxicity have also been preliminarily clarified at genetic, cellular, individual, and short food chain levels, providing not only a theoretical basis for revealing the risk change and environmental health effects of ENMs in natural environments but also a methodological guidance for studying environmental health of other emerging contaminants. Nonetheless, due to the interaction of multiple environmental factors and the high diversity of organisms in natural environments, health effects observed in laboratory studies likely differ from those in natural environments. We propose a holistic approach and mesocosmic model ecosystems to systematically carry out environmental health research on emerging contaminants, obtaining data that determine the objectivity and accuracy of risk assessment.
对新兴污染物的环境卫生进行研究对于在其造成严重危害之前了解其风险至关重要。然而，新兴污染物的低环境浓度、复杂行为和毒理学给研究人员带来了巨大挑战。在此，我们回顾了对工程纳米材料（ENMs）这一典型新兴污染物的环境卫生研究，以启发在新兴污染物初始探索阶段的未来研究途径。迄今为止，已经建立了一些用于测定自然环境中ENMs的预处理方法和检测技术。在实验室研究中已系统地探索了ENMs转移和转化的机制。在基因、细胞、个体和短食物链水平上也初步阐明了ENMs诱导毒性的机制，这不仅为揭示自然环境中ENMs的风险变化和环境卫生影响提供了理论基础，也为研究其他新兴污染物的环境卫生提供了方法指导。尽管如此，由于自然环境中多种环境因素的相互作用以及生物的高度多样性，实验室研究中观察到的健康影响可能与自然环境中的不同。我们提出一种整体方法和中宇宙模型生态系统，以系统地开展对新兴污染物的环境卫生研究，获取确定风险评估客观性和准确性的数据。
