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Ce oxide nanoparticles are widely used in numerous surface coatings, however, their environmental fate and persistence is unclear.

Nanoplastics (NPs

Artificial athletic turf containing crumb rubber (CR) from shredded tires is a growing environmental and public health concern. However, the associated health risk is unknown due to the lack of toxicity data for higher vertebrates. We evaluated the toxic effects of CR in a developing amniote vertebrate embryo. CR water leachate was administered to fertilized chicken eggs via different exposure routes, i.e., coating by dropping CR leachate on the eggshell; dipping the eggs into CR leachate; microinjecting CR leachate into the air cell or yolk. After 3 or 7 d of incubation, embryonic morphology, organ development, physiology, and molecular pathways were measured. The results showed that CR leachate injected into the yolk caused mild to severe developmental malformations, reduced growth, and specifically impaired the development of the brain and cardiovascular system, which were associated with gene dysregulation in aryl hydrocarbon receptor, stress-response, and thyroid hormone pathways. The observed systematic effects were probably due to a complex mixture of toxic chemicals leaching from CR, such as metals (e.g., Zn, Cr, Pb) and amines (e.g., benzothiazole). This study points to a need to closely examine the potential regulation of the use of CR on playgrounds and artificial fields.

As the production and use of engineered nanomaterials increase, there is an urgent need to develop analytical techniques that are sufficiently sensitive to be able to measure the very small nanopar...

Nanoparticle (NP) emissions to the environment are increasing as a result of anthropogenic activities, prompting concerns for ecosystems and human health. In order to evaluate the risk of NPs, it is necessary to know their concentrations in various environmental compartments on regional and global scales; however, these data have remained largely elusive due to the analytical difficulties of measuring NPs in complex natural matrices. Here, we measure NP concentrations and sizes for Ti-, Ce-, and Ag-containing NPs in numerous global surface waters and precipitation samples, and we provide insights into their compositions and origins (natural or anthropogenic). The results link NP occurrences and distributions to particle type, origin, and sampling location. Based on measurements from 46 sites across 13 countries, total Ti- and Ce-NP concentrations (regardless of origin) were often found to be within 104 to 107 NP mL-1, whereas Ag NPs exhibited sporadic occurrences with low concentrations generally up to 105 NP mL-1. This generally corresponded to mass concentrations of

Nanoparticle (NP) emissions to the environment are increasing as a result of anthropogenic activities, prompting concerns for ecosystems and human health. In order to evaluate the risk of NPs, it is necessary to know their concentrations in various environmental compartments on regional and global scales; however, these data have remained largely elusive due to the analytical difficulties of measuring NPs in complex natural matrices. Here, we measure NP concentrations and sizes for Ti-, Ce-, and Ag-containing NPs in numerous global surface waters and precipitation samples, and we provide insights into their compositions and origins (natural or anthropogenic). The results link NP occurrences and distributions to particle type, origin, and sampling location. Based on measurements from 46 sites across 13 countries, total Ti- and Ce-NP concentrations (regardless of origin) were often found to be within 104 to 107 NP mL–1, whereas Ag NPs exhibited sporadic occurrences with low concentrations generally up to 105 NP mL–1. This generally corresponded to mass concentrations of

As the production and use of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) increases, so does the concern of the scientific community over their release into the environment. Single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is emerging as one of the best techniques for NP detection and quantification; however, it is often limited by high size detection limits (SDL). To that end, a high sensitivity sector field ICP-MS (SF-ICP-MS) with microsecond dwell times (50 µs) was used to lower the SDL of CeO2 NPs to below 4.0 nm. Ag and Au NPs were also analyzed for reference. SF-ICP-MS was then used to detect CeO2 NPs in a Montreal rainwater at a concentration of (2.2 ± 0.1) × 108 L−1 with a mean diameter of 10.8 ± 0.2 nm; and in a St. Lawrence River water at a concentration of ((1.6 ± 0.3) × 109 L−1) with a higher mean diameter (21.9 ± 0.8 nm). SF-ICP-MS and single particle time of flight ICP-MS on Ce and La indicated that 36% of the Ce-containing NPs detected in Montreal rainwater were engineered Ce NPs.

With growing applications of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) in outdoor surface coatings, notably in paints and stains, their release into the environment is inevitable. While NP release has potential ecotoxicological risk, reliable risk assessments are often complicated by the near absence of analytical data on release rates under natural weathering scenarios, and the lack of a chemical characterization of the NPs following their release. This work measured NPs released from painted and stained surfaces and characterized them by size and composition using magnetic sector single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) and SP-ICP-time-of-flight-MS (SP-ICP-TOF-MS). Two in situ experimental plans were examined in which natural precipitation interacted with nano-enhanced surfaces to varying degrees during the fall and winter. Weathering data showed that longer contact times of the precipitation (snow and rain) resulted in greater NP release. Although the stained surfaces had far fewer NPs per unit area, they lost a much higher fraction of their NP load (max 6% leached, as opposed to

Nanoplastics (NPs;0.1 μm) are speculated to be a bigger ecological threat due to their predicted wider distribution, higher concentrations, and bioavailability. Primary NPs are manufactured to be that size, while secondary NPs originate from fragmentation of bigger debris. To date, the long-term impact of NPs in freshwater systems, particularly secondary NPs, is not well-understood. Thus, we employed a freshwater invertebrate

Paints and coatings represent one of the major applications of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). While it has been previously shown that NPs are released from painted surfaces, there is still a lack of experimental data on their release rates under natural conditions and on the size distributions of the NPs following release. This study quantifies TiO2 NP release from painted surfaces under natural weathering conditions and identifies the main seasonal factors that contribute to increased NP release. First, an analytical methodology using a highly sensitive single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (SP-ICP-MS) was developed that improved the size detection limit (SDL) of the technique down to

Wastewater effluents represent one of the main routes through which silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) can reach natural aquatic environments, where they may interact with a range of organisms. However, in wastewaters, Ag NPs may undergo different chemical and physical transformations, which may alter NP toxicity towards aquatic organisms. The main objectives of this study are to characterize the dissolution and speciation of a Ag NP in a wastewater effluent and to assess its interactions with a model organism, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (green alga), in the same medium. Experiments were conducted to distinguish the effect(s) of the wastewater matrix on the dissolution of Ag NPs and to determine whether the transformed NPs or the dissolved Ag species would be more bioavailable to C. reinhardtii. It was shown that in the wastewater effluent, Ag bioavailability was significantly reduced with respect to experiments using similar Ag concentrations in simple media. The substantial reduction in Ag bioavailability in wastewaters could be explained by the presence of high concentrations of organic/inorganic ligands, which complexed the Ag and the presence of substantial competing ions. Nonetheless, Ag NPs did appear to be bioavailable to C. reinhardtii at higher concentrations, as observed from bioaccumulation experiments comparing dissolved Ag and Ag NPs. Since the biouptake of Ag NPs could not be explained by concentrations of free Ag alone, it was hypothesized that complexed Ag species and/or small NPs may have contributed to biouptake. The results suggested that the chemistry of wastewaters had a significant effect on the bioavailability of Ag NPs, by modifying their physicochemical transformations.

As the production and use of engineered nanomaterials increase, there is an urgent need to develop analytical techniques that are sufficiently sensitive to be able to measure the very small nanoparticles (NP) at very low concentrations. Although single particle ICP-MS (SP-ICP-MS) is emerging as one of the best techniques for detecting NP, it is limited by relatively high size detection limits for several NP, including many of the oxides. The use of a high sensitivity sector field ICP-MS (ICP-SF-MS), microsecond dwell times, and dry aerosol sample introduction systems were examined with the goal of lowering the size detection limits of the technique. For samples injected as a wet aerosol, size detection limits as low as 4.9 nm for Ag NP and 19.2 nm for TiO

As the production and use of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) increases, so does the concern of the scientific community over their release into the environment. Single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is emerging as one of the best techniques for NP detection and quantification, however, it is often limited by high size detection limits (SDL). To that end, a high sensitivity sector field ICP-MS (SF-ICP-MS) with microsecond dwell times (50 &micro, s) was used to lower the SDL of CeO2 NPs to below 4.0 nm. Ag and Au NPs were also analyzed for reference. SF-ICP-MS was then used to detect CeO2 NPs in a Montreal rainwater at a concentration of (2.2 &plusmn, 0.1) &times, 108 L&minus, 1 with a mean diameter of 10.8 &plusmn, 0.2 nm, and in a St. Lawrence River water at a concentration of ((1.6 &plusmn, 0.3) &times, 109 L&minus, 1) with a higher mean diameter (21.9 &plusmn, 0.8 nm). SF-ICP-MS and single particle time of flight ICP-MS on Ce and La indicated that 36% of the Ce-containing NPs detected in Montreal rainwater were engineered Ce NPs.