Descripción del proyecto
Una metodología nueva para abordar la amenaza ecológica de los microplásticos y los nanoplásticos
Reconocemos que el plástico —ya sea de las botellas, las pajitas, las bolsas, etc.— muchas veces termina en las masas de agua, lo cual amenaza a la fauna acuática. Identificar y caracterizar estos contaminante es relativamente fácil. Sin embargo, carecemos de resultados cuantitativos fiables porque las técnicas que se utilizan carecen de sensibilidad o precisión. El equipo del proyecto AQUPLAST, financiado con fondos europeos, pretende desarrollar un nuevo método para controlar la distribución de microplásticos y nanoplásticos en compartimentos medioambientales y mejorar la evaluación de los riesgos en la salud medioambiental y humana. La metodología que se utiliza, basada en la cromatografía líquida y la espectrometría de masas de alta resolución, permitirá comprender mejor los riesgos de la contaminación por microplásticos y nanoplásticos, así como la correlación de la presencia de microplásticos y nanoplásticos con factores antropogénicos y estacionales.
Objetivo
Plastic pollution is an issue of environmental concern intensively discussed in the scientific literature and public media in recent years. Particularly, microplastics (MPs) and/or nanoplastics (NPs) are a kind of pollutants potentially hazardous for ecosystems and human health that can be ingested by aquatic fauna. In this context, the presence of MPs and a lesser extent of NPs have been reported in the environment and biota. However, the detection of these pollutants generally it happens through techniques that allow its identification and characterization but have not enough sensitivity and/or accuracy to provide quantitative reliable results. Therefore, this project will focus on developing an accurate and reliable analytical procedure by liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry for monitoring the occurrence and spatial-temporal distribution of MPs and NPs in environmental compartments and the further risk assessment in environmental and human health. This project shows an interdisciplinary nature that involves environmental, analytical chemistry and social sciences research field. This latter, considering the anthropogenic approach of this action. In addition, this proposal includes a two-way transfer of knowledge between the researcher and the host institution, as well as the training of the researcher in new advanced techniques both at the host as partner institution. The results of this project will allow to correlate the presence of MPs and NPs with anthropogenic and seasonal factors through accurate analytical methodologies. Moreover, it will allow a better understanding of risks of MPs and NPs pollution for environmental and human health, providing data that could be used by policymakers. To emphasize, this project is aligned with the European Union strategy of developing accurate analytical methods for quantify MPs and NPs in environmental matrices and biota in order to perform appropriate risk assessment.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
HORIZON-AG-UN - HORIZON Unit GrantCoordinador
46010 Valencia
España