Assessment of microplastics in human stool: A pilot study investigating the potential impact of diet-associated scenarios on oral microplastics exposure.

As emerging contaminants microplastic particles have become of particular relevance as they are widely present in the environment and of potential concern to human health. Humans are exposed through different routes, with oral intake and inhalation being the most significant. Dietary intake substantially contributes to oral exposure, although data is still lacking.

Generation of reproducible model freshwater particulate matter analogues to study the interaction with particulate contaminants.

Aquatic fate models and risk assessment require experimental information on the potential of contaminants to interact with riverine suspended particulate matter (SPM). While for dissolved contaminants partition or sorption coefficients are used, the underlying assumption of chemical equilibrium is invalid for particulate contaminants, such as engineered nanomaterials, incidental nanoparticles, micro- or nanoplastics. Their interactions with SPM are governed by physicochemical forces between contaminant-particle and SPM surfaces.

Freshwater suspended particulate matter-Key components and processes in floc formation and dynamics.

Freshwater suspended particulate matter (SPM) plays an important role in many biogeochemical cycles and serves multiple ecosystem functions. Most SPM is present as complex floc-like aggregate structures composed of various minerals and organic matter from the molecular to the organism level. Flocs provide habitat for microbes and feed for larger organisms.

Novel multimethod approach for the determination of the colloidal stability of nanomaterials in complex environmental mixtures using a global stability index: TiO as case study.

A systematic study on the colloidal behavior of uncoated and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coated TiO engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in simulated aqueous media is herein reported, in which conditions representative for natural waters (pH, presence of divalent electrolytes (i.e. Ca/Mg and SO), of natural organic matter (NOM) and of suspended particulate matter (SPM)) were systematically varied.

Environmental fate of nanopesticides: durability, sorption and photodegradation of nanoformulated clothianidin.

A lot of research efforts are currently dedicated to the development of nano-enabled agrochemicals. Knowledge about their environmental behaviour is however scarce, which impedes the assessment of the new risk and benefits relative to currently used agrochemicals. With the aim to advance our understanding of the fate of nanopesticides in the environment and support the development of robust exposure assessment procedures, the main objectives of the study were to (i) investigate the extent to which three nanoformulations can affect the photodegradation and sorption of the insecticide clothianidin, and (ii) evaluate various approaches to estimate durability, a key parameter for the exposure assessment of nanopesticides.