A Review

Funding Information: This study was conducted under the TwiNSol-CECs project, which received funding from a Horizon Europe program under grant agreement No. 101059867. Funding Information: This research was funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EU executive agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are chemicals or materials that are not under current regulation but there are increasing concerns about their possible occurrence in the environment because of their potential threat to human and environmental health, with wastewater perceived as their primary source. Although various techniques for their removal from water have been studied, it should be emphasized that the choice should also consider the use of resources and energy within the removal processes, which must be minimized to avoid additional carbon footprints and environmental impact. In this context, the use of biomass-based sorbents might represent a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach for the removal of CECs from water because they are based on preferably local renewable resources with lower negative impacts on the global carbon cycle through greenhouse gas emissions than the conventional nonrenewable ones. This paper provides an overview of the studies dealing with the application of such so-called biosorbents for the removal of CECs from water and discusses the use of their different forms: sorbents after a minimal pretreatment of the original lignocellulosic biomass; sorbents extracted from lignocellulosic biomass and/or modified; and biochar-based sorbents obtained after thermochemical conversion of biomass. It explains possible modifications of biosorbents and discusses the efficiency of various biosorbents for the removal of selected emerging compounds that belong to the classes of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides and compares the adsorption capacities, kinetic models, and mechanisms reported in the relevant literature. Biochar-based sorption has been studied more often if compared to other considered biosorbents. In some cases, removal efficiencies of contaminants greater than 90% were achieved, but nonetheless a wide range of efficiencies for different CECs indicates that for successful simultaneous multicompound removal, a combination of different processes seems to be a more appropriate approach than the stand-alone use of biosorbents. Finally, this review discusses the reasons behind the limited commercial application of the considered biosorbents and provides directions for possible further research, in particular the use of spent biosorbents from a perspective of circular systems.publishersversionpublishe

Are bioplastics safe? : Hazardous effects of polylactic acid (PLA) nanoplastics in Drosophila

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABThe expanded uses of bioplastics require understanding the potential health risks associated with their exposure. To address this issue, Drosophila melanogaster as a versatile terrestrial in vivo model was employed, and polylactic acid nanoplastics (PLA-NPLs), as a proxy for bioplastics, were tested as a material model. Effects were determined in larvae exposed for 4 days to different concentrations (25, 100, and 400 μg/mL) of 463.9 ± 129.4 nm PLA-NPLs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) approaches permitted the detection of PLA-NPLs in the midgut lumen of Drosophila larvae, interacting with symbiotic bacteria. Enzymatic vacuoles were observed as carriers, collecting PLA-NPLs and enabling the crossing of the peritrophic membrane, finally internalizing into enterocytes. Although no toxic effects were observed in egg-to-adult survival, cell uptake of PLA-NPLs causes cytological disturbances and the formation of large vacuoles. The translocation across the intestinal barrier was demonstrated by their presence in the hemolymph. PLA-NPL exposure triggered intestinal damage, oxidative stress, DNA damage, and inflammation responses, as evaluated via a wide set of marker genes. Collectively, these structural and molecular interferences caused by PLA-NPLs generated high levels of oxidative stress and DNA damage in the hemocytes of Drosophila larvae. The observed effects point out the need for further studies aiming to deepen the health risks of bioplastics before adopting their uses as a safe plastic alternative

Meta-analysis of glyphosate contamination in surface waters and dissipation by biofilms

International audienc

Analysis of perfluoroalkyl substances in cord blood by turbulent flow chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

A fast on-line analytical method based on turbulent flow chromatography (TFC) in combination with tandem mass spectrometry has been applied for the first time for the analysis of eighteen perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), in cord blood. A simple and rapid sample pre-treatment was optimised consisting on protein precipitation of 100 mu L of sample with acetonitrile (1:1) followed by centrifugation during 10 min. The method was adapted to be sensitive enough and robust with minimum sample injection volume requirements (20 mu L.). The optimised methodology presented method limits of detection (MLOD) between 0.031 and 0.76 mu g/L, detection capabilities (CC alpha) in the range between 0.005 and 0.99 mu g/L and decision limits (CC beta) ranging from 0.006 to 1.16 mu g/L The recoveries in blank blood were calculated by spiking experiments with a mixture of 18 PFASs and established between 70 and 126% for most of compounds. Isotopic dilution was carried out for quantification of selected analytes. In-house validation of this new approach was carried out according to the requirements in the 2002/657/EC Decision. Finally the good applicability of this new approach was proved by the analysis of 60 cord blood samples from two different Mediterranean cities, Barcelona (Spain) and Heraklion (Greece). Ions perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) were found at highest concentration and the more frequently compounds were PFHxS, PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The newly developed method proved to be suitable for large-scale epidemiologic studies, and to the data on PFASs exposure during pregnancy. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Kinetics and toxicity of nanoplastics in ex vivo exposed human whole blood as a model to understand their impact on human health

The ubiquitous presence of nanoplastics (NPLs) in the environment is considered of great health concern. Due to their size, NPLs can cross both the intestinal and pulmonary barriers and, consequently, their presence in the blood compartment is expected. Understanding the interactions between NPLs and human blood components is required. In this study, to simulate more adequate real exposure conditions, the whole blood of healthy donors was exposed to five different NPLs: three polystyrene NPLs of approximately 50 nm (aminated PS-NH2, carboxylated PS-COOH, and pristine PS- forms), together with two true-to-life NPLs from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polylactic acid (PLA) of about 150 nm. Internalization was determined in white blood cells (WBCs) by confocal microscopy, once the different main cell subtypes (monocytes, polymorphonucleated cells, and lymphocytes) were sorted by flow cytometry. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (iROS) induction was determined in WBCs and cytokine release in plasma. In addition, hemolysis, coagulation, and platelet activation were also determined. Results showed a differential uptake between WBC subtypes, with monocytes showing a higher internalization. Regarding iROS, lymphocytes were those with higher levels, which was observed for different NPLs. Changes in cytokine release were also detected, with higher effects observed after PLA- and PS-NH2-NPL exposure. Hemolysis induction was observed after PS- and PS-COOH-NPL exposure, but no effects on platelet functionality were observed after any of the treatments. To our knowledge, this is the first study comprehensively evaluating the bloodstream kinetics and toxicity of NPL from different polymeric types on human whole blood, considering the role played by the cell subtype and the NPLs physicochemical characteristics in the effects observed after the exposures.A. Villacorta was supported by Ph.D. fellowships from the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID), CONICYT PFCHA/DOCTORADO BECAS CHILE/2020-72210237. A. García-Rodríguez received funding from the postdoctoral fellowship program Beatriu de Pinós, funded by the Secretary of Universities and Research [Government of Catalonia] and by the Horizon 2020 program of Research and Innovation of the European Union under the Marie Sktodowsdka-Curie grant agreement No 801370. L. Rubio holds a postdoctoral Juan de la Cierva contract (IJC2020–2686I/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 ). A. Hernández was granted an ICREA ACADEMIA award. This project (PlasticHeal) has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 965196 . This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [ PID2020-116789 , RB-C43 ] and the Generalitat de Catalunya ( 2021-SGR-00731).Peer reviewe

Harmonised protocols for method validation for monitoring and biomonitoring of emerging pollutants - Developed by the NORMAN network

International audienceComparability and reliability of monitoring data are essential for any meaningful assessment and for the management of environmental risks. For emerging pollutants, there is concern regarding the comparability of data at the European level. Methods used for the monitoring of emerging pollutants have often not been properly validated either in-house or at the international level. Such methods are often not well established in the scientific community, and far from being harmonised or standardised. In addition, they may only be applicable to specific conditions (matrix, organism) which may further complicate data comparability. Within the EU-funded coordination action "NORMAN - Network of Reference Laboratories for Monitoring and Bio-monitoring of Emerging Pollutants", a common European approach to the validation of both chemical and biological methods for the respective monitoring and bio-monitoring of emerging pollutants (or their effects) in a broad range of matrices has been developed. This guidance document addresses three different validation approaches, in increasing order of complexity. These are : 1. Within-laboratory validation (research level) ; 2. Basic external validation (transferability at expert level) ; 3. Inter-laboratory validation (routine level). The concept of these three approaches is strictly hierarchical, i.e. a method must fulfil all criteria of the lower level before it can enter the validation protocol of a higher level. In the case of a specific monitoring task, this protocol will guide the user through the following steps : I. Evaluation and classification of existing methods with respect to their potential, both in terms of validation, and the selection of an appropriate validation approach ; II. Development of a method, in terms of extending its application ; III. The validation procedures to be undertaken in order to effectively demonstrate the validation status of a selected method according to the three approaches adopted. The scope of the harmonised protocol covers quantitative and qualitative biological and chemical test methods for the analysis of water, air, soil and biota. The protocols have been tested in three case studies, each one matching one of the three validation levels. Based on the feedback from the case studies, the protocols have been improved. Future validation studies (for methods to monitor emerging pollutants) by the NORMAN network will make use of the protocols, and it is intended to implement the protocols at the level of European Standardisation (e.g. as CEN guidance document)