Effects of environmental factors on the toxicity & bioavailability of standard manufactured nanoparticles using a battery of marine species

The proposed collaborative project aims to: (1) investigate the toxicity of standard nanoparticles (NP), to a battery of marine species, (2) understand and elucidate the behaviour/effects of humic substances and changes in salinity on the toxicity of stan dard NP to the battery of species, (3) perform comparative exposures to investigate the physical effects of particle size and aggregation of the NP on the dose received by pelagic and benthic living organisms in a laboratory test system and (4) investigat e the trophic and ecosystem differences and effects of the NP and organic matter at environmentally relevant concentrations (all aspects to be supported by a thorough characterisation of the NP and organic matter in the test systems). One of the most c ritical R&D challenges associated with this work is that there is still little known about the behaviour of NP in aquatic systems. There is also limited understanding of the interaction of NP and abiotic factors (e.g.pH, salinity), aggregation chemistry a nd physiochemical properties, and the affect these properties will have on fate, bioavailability, toxicity and trophic transfer of the NP. It is expected that the project findings will allow for a more complete understanding of the behaviour of manuafactu red NP under realistic and environmentally relevant conditions. This information can practically be applied in future environmental risk assessment. Another major objective of this work is to establish collaborative research links between the Focas Res earch Institute, NIVA and University of Oslo for future research collaborations and exchange of expertise. To interface the Irish national networks with Norway and expand the EU NanoImpact Net to include NIVA and UiO. It is also the ambition of this proje ct that, through our research and technology transfer endeavours, the institutes involved make an essential contribution to further positioning Ireland and Norway to the fore in the area of nanobioscience.