Timing, hosts and locations of (grouped) events of NanoImpactNet

sludge. Information on rates of sludge application to soils
across Europe will be used to estimate concentrations
reached via this route. For that which partitions into
effluent, realistic water levels will be modelled using the
GIS water quality model LF2000-WQX Wales (Williams et al.,
2009). Predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) will
be generated for a representative set of river catchments in
the Thames, Midland and Anglia regions of the UK, which
are known to have the least dilution of sewage effluent
across the UK. These catchment scenarios will be compared
with catchments across Europe in the GREAT-ER model.
The model will be driven by consumption and discharge
values together with wastewater fate. With its underlying
database of wastewater treatment plants (location, size
and flow) together with river hydrological data (all
discharges, abstractions and natural flow), the LF2000-
WQX model provides unparalleled ability to predict
concentrations that may reach real environments (NERC,
F+B).
The predicted environmental concentrations in different
compartments derived from the modelling work for our
selected ENPs under different usage scenarios will used in the
project both to inform the design of toxicity studies in WP 3, WP
4 and WP 5 and as input into spatially explicit risk assessment
models in WP 6.
Obj.3: Analyse ENP interactions with environmental and
biological entities using advanced microscope and physical
analysis.
Baseline. NanoSafe II (FP6 - which involved NanoFATE partners)
has defined the current state-of-the-art for characterising and
measuring ENP interactions with each other and with different
biological model environments. The project used industrially
supplied ENPs in model systems (e.g. cells) to determine their
toxicities and demonstrated that understanding the shape and
composition of ENPs and how they behave in different media is
critical to understanding their potential toxicity (NanoSAFEII,
2008). Currently a major barrier to extending this work to more
complex environments is the ability to differentiate ENPs from
naturally occurring NPs or clusters.
NanoFATE progression beyond the “state-of-the-art”. The
NanoFATE consortium will address ENP interactions with
environmental and biological systems by specifically mobilising
the expertise of researchers with extensive experience of
preparing real environmental and biotic samples for analysis of
the interactions of ENPs with, for example, natural colloids and
bacterial cells in wastewater and soil pore water. A range of the
advanced techniques suitable for detection of the commercially
available and bespoke manufactured and doped ENPs will be
used for the specific studies in NanoFATE. These will allow
NanoFATE researchers to track the interaction of particle with
colloidal and particulate matter, since these interactions are
important determinants of particle bioavailability. Methods that
also allow determination of the uptake and localisation of ENPs
within prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms will also be utilised.
The major techniques that will be used in the studies in
NanoFATE are as follows:
NanoSafetyCluster - Compendium 2012
1. Raman microscopy for the detection of ENP behaviour both
in waste water systems and in biological entities including
the internalisation of particles in prokaryotic and eukaryotic
organisms (Huang et al., 2004;Singer et al., 2005) (UOXF.DJ,
NERC);
2. Light, X-ray and neutron scattering spectroscopy for
detection of ENP-ENP and ENP-colloidal interactions in
waters and assessing the role played by colloids in
facilitating particle aggregation in waste and surface
waters (Jarvie and King, 2007) (NERC);
3. Electron microscopy techniques such as scanning Electron
Microscopy (coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-ray analysis
(ESEM-EDX) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM-
EDX) and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis for visualisation
of ENP interactions with environmental media, aquatic
colloids and biological entities in support of assessment of
ENP bioavailability in soil and water systems and the
detection and localisation of internalised ENP in organisms
(CU, UOXF.DJ)
4. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI)-
Imaging mass spectrometry for detection of surface
interactions of ENP with particulate matter and possibly
also imagine of tissues for metal ENPs inclusions (UOXF.DJ,
UNIPMN).
5. Flow Field-Flow Fractionation with high resolution ICP-MS
(FLFFF-HR-ICP-MS) including use of a new detection mode.
This detection method, called single particle ICPMS, built on
an ultra fast (