Karbonoan oinarritutako nanomaterialen eta mikro eta nanoplastikoen eragina kutsatzaile organiko iraunkorren garraiatzaile gisa organismo itsastarretan

Abstract

The development of industry and technology has led to the synthesis of new materials with unique physico-chemical properties, among them, nanomaterials are becoming abundant. Nanomaterials are materials with at least one dimension at the nanoscale (<100 nm). At present, there is no specific regulation for nanomaterials in European law, although their physico-chemical properties are different in comparison to their bulk counterparts. Microplastics are plastic materials smaller than 5 mm while nanoplastics are smaller than 100 nm. Whilst the impacts of macroplastics are well studied, it was only in recent years that interest developed in understanding the effects of micro and nanoplastics. Nanomaterials, micro and nanoplastics originate from different sources and reach the sea. As a result, their effects on marine biota represent a major concern. Due to the high surface/volume ratio and hydrophobicity of nanomaterials, micro and nanoplastics, they pose an additional risk: they can adsorb persistent organic pollutants and act as their carriers, increasing bioavailability of these compounds to marine organisms. The purpose of this work is to review the potential effects caused by carbon based nanomaterials, micro and nanoplastics in different marine organisms at molecular, cellular and physiological levels and to compare these effects to those caused by nanomaterials, micro and nanoplastics with adsorbed persistent organic pollutants. For example, after feeding mussels with a diet containing microplastics, these have been found in gut lumen, digestive epithelium and connective tissue and in mussels fed with microplastics with adsorbed benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene, was accumulated in mussel tissues. Microplastics alone and with adsorbed persistent organic pollutants produce inmunotoxic, genotoxic and deleterious physiological effects. Thus, since pollutans do not appear isolated in the complex marine environment, this knowledge should be taken into account to ensure the health and safety of marine ecosystems.