Increasing concern and research on the subject of plastic pollution has engaged the community of scientists working on the environmental health and safety of nanomaterials. While many of the methods ...developed in nano environment, health and safety work have general applicability to the study of particulate plastics, the nanometric size range has important consequences for both the analytical challenges of studying nanoscale plastics and the environmental implications of these incidental nanomaterials. Related to their size, nanoplastics are distinguished from microplastics with respect to their transport properties, interactions with light and natural colloids, a high fraction of particle molecules on the surface, bioavailability and diffusion times for the release of plastic additives. Moreover, they are distinguished from engineered nanomaterials because of their high particle heterogeneity and their potential for rapid further fragmentation in the environment. These characteristics impact environmental fate, potential effects on biota and human health, sampling and analysis. Like microplastics, incidentally produced nanoplastics exhibit a diversity of compositions and morphologies and a heterogeneity that is typically absent from engineered nanomaterials. Therefore, nanoscale plastics must be considered as distinct from both microplastics and engineered nanomaterials.
Identification of nanoplastics in complex environmental matrices remains a challenge. Despite the increase in nanoplastics studies, there is a lack of studies dedicated to nanoplastics detection, ...partially explained by their carbon-based structure, their wide variety of composition, and their low environmental concentrations compared to the natural organic matter. Here, pyrolysis coupled to a GCMS instrumental setup provided a relevant analytical response for polypropylene and polystyrene nanoplastic suspensions. Specific pyrolysis markers and their indicative fragment ions were selected and validated. Possible interferences with environmental matrices were explored by spiking nanoplastics in various organic matter suspensions (i.e., algae, soil natural organic matter, and soil humic acid) and analyzing an environmental suspension of nanoplastics. While a rapid polypropylene nanoplastics identification was validated, polystyrene nanoplastics require preliminary treatment. The strategies presented herein open new possibilities for the detection/identification of nanoplastics in environmental matrices such as soil, dust, and biota.
Degradation of plastic waste in the environment leads to the formation of microplastics and nanoplastics. To better understand the fate, behavior and reactivity of nanoplastics, it is essential to ...conduct experiments with representative and well-characterized nanoplastics. In the present study, we provided a top down method based on mechanical degradation to obtain nanoplastics from both primary and secondary microplastics. These nanoplastics were then characterized in terms of size distribution, morphology and surface charge. It was found that they are highly polydisperse with different shapes and negatively charged surfaces and therefore very close to natural colloid characteristics. These nanoplastics may share similarities with environmental nanoplastics as referred to their chemical nature and morphology. Their physicochemical properties have been studied vs. salinity, pH and temperature.
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•A top down method based on mechanical degradation providing randomly shaped nanoplastics•Production of polydisperse, anisotropic and negatively charged nanoplastics•Nanoplastic stability assessment
The detection and quantification of nanoplastics in aquatic environments is one of the major challenges in environmental and analytical research nowadays. The use of common analytical techniques for ...this purpose is not only hampered by the size of nanoplastics, but also because they are mainly made of carbon. In addition, the expected concentrations in environmental samples are below the detection limit of the majority of analytical techniques. In this context, the great detection capabilities of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) in its Single Particle mode (SP-ICP-MS) have made of this technique a good candidate for the analysis of nanoplastics. Since the monitoring of carbon by ICP-MS faces several difficulties, the use of metal tags, taking advantage of the great potential of nanoplastics to adsorb chemical compounds, has been proposed as an alternative. In this perspectives paper, three different strategies for the analysis of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics by SP-ICP-MS based on the use of metals species (ions, hydrophobic organometallic compound, and nanoparticles) as tags are presented and discussed. Advantages and disadvantages of each strategy, which rely on the labelling process, are highlighted. The metal nanoparticles labelling strategy is shown as a promising tool for the detection and quantification of nanoplastics in aqueous matrices by SP-ICP-MS.
Microplastics are ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems, but little information is currently available on the dangers and risks to living organisms. In order to assess the ecotoxicity of environmental ...microplastics (MPs), samples were collected from the beaches of two islands in the Guadeloupe archipelago, Petit-Bourg (PB) located on the main island of Guadeloupe and Marie-Galante (MG) on the second island of the archipelago. These samples have a similar polymer composition with mainly polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). However, these two samples are very dissimilar with regard to their contamination profile and their toxicity. MPs from MG contain more lead, cadmium and organochlorine compounds while those from PB have higher levels of copper, zinc and hydrocarbons. The leachates of these two samples of MPs induced sublethal effects on the growth of sea urchins and on the pulsation frequency of jellyfish ephyrae but not on the development of zebrafish embryos. The toxic effects are much more marked for samples from the PB site than those from the MG site. This work demonstrates that MPs can contain high levels of potentially bioavailable toxic substances that may represent a significant ecotoxicological risk, particularly for the early life stages of aquatic animals.
•Microplastics were collected on beaches from 2 islands in the Guadeloupe archipelago.•MPs collected have similar polymer composition but dissimilar chemical composition.•Leachates from both sites are toxic for sea urchin larvae and jellyfish ephyrae.•Toxicity levels differ between sites.•Toxicity differences may be attributed to differences in chemical impregnation.
•DLS method validation according to ICH guidelines reported on a nanoformulation.•DLS as a valuable quality control routine technique to control the size of well-defined nanoparticles.•Good ...analytical performances by AF4-UV-MALS for size and size distribution determination of nanoparticles.•AF4-MALS as a powerful tool to study structural changes of nanovaccines.•Accurate quantification of the active ingredient inside the nanoformulation by AF4-UV.
Nanoformulations are complex systems where physicochemical properties determine their therapeutic efficacy and safety. In the case of nanovaccines, particle size and shape play a crucial role on the immune response generated. Furthermore, the antigen’s integrity is also a key aspect to control when producing a nanovaccine. The determination of all those physicochemical properties is still an analytical challenge and the lack of well-established methods hinders the access of new therapeutics to the market. In this work, robust methods for the characterization of a novel HIV nanoparticle-based vaccine produced in good manufacturing practice (GMPs)-like environment were developed. With slightly polydisperse particles (< 0.2) close to 180 nm of size, batch-mode Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) was validated to be used as a quality control technique in the pilot production plant. In addition, a high size resolution method using Asymmetrical Flow Field Flow Fractionation (AF4) demonstrated its ability to determine not only size and size distribution but also shape modification across the size and accurate quantification of the free active ingredient. Results showed a monomodal distribution of particles from 60 to 700 nm, most of them (> 90%) with size lower than 250 nm, consistent with more traditional techniques, and revealed a slight change in the structure of the particles induced by the presence of the antigen. Finally, a batch to batch variability lower than 20% was obtained by both DLS and AF4 methods indicating that preparation method was highly reproducible.
We present the rapid and quantitative characterization of ionic, non-ionic and zwitterionic surfactants based upon the combination of an automatic continuous mixing technique and static light ...scattering. Collection and subsequent analysis of data are both rapid and semiautomatic, which increases precision, sensitivity, and range of applicability while substantially decreasing the amount of manual intervention required by the investigator. By treating the continuous data, the entire data set may be rapidly analyzed in the context of the closed association model to determine the critical micelle concentration
cmc and aggregation number
Nag of a detergent; these technique are comparable in the scope and resolution currently obtainable from other conductimetric, fluorescence and surface tension techniques.
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Fullerene (C60) aggregation mechanisms in aqueous media require considerable attention in the near future due to the heavy use and application of fullerene-based products within the ...context of nanotechnology. Such intensive development will result in the release of massive amounts of C60 in aqueous environmental systems in the aggregate form (nC60). In that sense, the aggregation mechanisms need to be fully determined to better evaluate the environmental fate and behavior of C60. To fulfil these needs, the aim of this work was to extensively characterize the aggregation mechanisms of fullerene aggregates in aqueous media by asymmetrical flow field fractionation (AF4) coupled to static light scattering (SLS). We developed a sequential ultrafiltration method that allows the fractionation of the whole nC60 size distribution into different size classes (1–100–200–450–800nm). Following a preliminary analysis by dynamic light scattering (DLS), we optimized several AF4 separation methods to allow screening of these colloidal size classes of nC60 with high efficiency and resolution. The fractal dimension (Df) of this entire size class was characterized directly on-line according to the radius of gyration through a combination of angle-dependent light scattering and fractal dimension analysis. We demonstrate the possible formation and persistence of colloidal populations of nC60 in aqueous media from a few nanometers up to 800nm. Df values ranging from 1.2 to 2.8, based on the nC60 colloidal size range, strongly depend on the method of the sample filtration.
Nanoplastics are pieces of plastic debris of mixed shape and chemical composition, which can be present in the air, soil, freshwater bodies, seas, biota, and our diet. We know little about the ...prevalence of nanoplastics and the risks they pose to the health of living organisms; recent studies of plastics in the environment have not significantly contributed information about this crucial topic. In this article, nanoplastics are presented as colloids. Analysing their colloidal properties shows that their fate is governed by interfacial properties, Trojan horse properties, and their stability in aqueous media. Their hazards, however, are as yet unknown.
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•A definition and model material for nanoplastics.•Factors that govern the “Trojan horse properties” of nanoplastics.•Why nanoplastics need to be considered with all their colloid characteristics?•What drives nanoplastic stability and aggregation?
While several studies have investigated the potential impact of nanoplastics, proof of their occurrence in our global environment has not yet been demonstrated. In the present work, by developing an ...innovative analytical strategy, the presence of nanoplastics in soil was identified for the first time. Our results demonstrate the presence of nanoplastics with a size ranging from 20 to 150 nm and covering three of the most common plastic families: polyethylene, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride. Given the amount of organic matter in the soil matrix, the discrimination and identification of large nanoplastic aggregates are challenging. However, we provided an innovative methodology to circumvent the organic matter impact on nanoplastic detection by coupling size fractionation to molecular analysis of plastics. While photodegradation has been considered the principal formation pathway of nanoplastics in the environment, this study provides evidence, for the first time, that plastic degradation and nanoplastic production can, however, occur in the soil matrix. Moreover, by providing an innovative and simple extraction/analysis method, this study paves the way to further studies, notably regarding nanoplastic environmental fate and impacts.
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•First evidence of nanoplastics in a plastic-contaminated soil.•Innovative method to detect nanoplastic in soil matrix.•Soil nanoplastics are composed of PVC, PS and PE.•Soil nanoplastic size is ranging from 20 to 150 nm.
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