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Toxics
Special Issues
Occurrence and Ecotoxicological Risk of Emerging Contaminants in Aquatic Environment
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Occurrence and Ecotoxicological Risk of Emerging Contaminants in Aquatic Environment

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecotoxicology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 February 2024) | Viewed by 7474

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francisco Ríos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
Interests: chemical engineering; cleaning; detergents; enzymes; surfactants; allergens removal
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Mercedes Fernández-Serrano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical Engineering Department, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
Interests: ecotoxicity; environmental assessment; microplastics; surfactants, encapsulation, enzymes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the ceaseless search for new products, materials, and ingredients in all the productive sectors has led to the generation and use of new chemical substances with a high potential to enter the aquatic environment. These are chemicals that are not commonly monitored but have the potential to cause adverse ecological effects, either directly or through their metabolites and transformation products. In this regard, the study of the occurrence, fate, and ecotoxicological risk of these emerging contaminants and their possible interactions with other components or contaminants on the aquatic environment is a matter of high interest and a research field of growing importance.

This Special Issue of Toxics aims to feature full-length articles, reviews, and communications addressing novel research on this topic from a multidisciplinary point of view, including (but not limited to) the following topics:

  1. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs);
  2. Pesticides;
  3. Veterinary drugs;
  4. Microplastics;
  5. Micro and nanoparticles;
  6. Disinfection byproducts;
  7. Surfactants;
  8. Industrial chemicals;
  9. Polymers;
  10. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs);
  11. Other persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals (PBTs).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Francisco Ríos
Prof. Dr. Mercedes Fernández-Serrano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aquatic toxicity
  • emerging contaminants
  • ecotoxicological risk
  • chronic toxicity
  • environmental assessment
  • water contaminants
  • risk assessment

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 2447 KiB  
Article
Influence of Organic Matter and Speciation on the Dynamics of Trace Metal Adsorption on Microplastics in Marine Conditions
by Ana Rapljenović, Marko Viskić, Stanislav Frančišković-Bilinski and Vlado Cuculić
Toxics 2024, 12(11), 820; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12110820 - 16 Nov 2024
Viewed by 377
Abstract
Dissolved organic matter (DOM), primarily in the form of humic acid (HA), plays a crucial role in trace metal (TM) speciation and their subsequent adsorption dynamics on microplastics (MP) in aquatic environments. This study evaluates the impact of environmentally relevant concentrations of HA [...] Read more.
Dissolved organic matter (DOM), primarily in the form of humic acid (HA), plays a crucial role in trace metal (TM) speciation and their subsequent adsorption dynamics on microplastics (MP) in aquatic environments. This study evaluates the impact of environmentally relevant concentrations of HA on the adsorption behaviors of essential (Co, Cu, Ni, and Zn) and toxic (Cd and Pb) TMs onto polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) pellets, as well as PP fibers under marine conditions, during a six-week experiment. The HA concentrations were 0.1, 1, and 5 mg/L, while all metals were in the same amounts (10 µg/L). Results reveal that HA significantly influences the adsorption of Cu, Pb, and Zn on MP, particularly on PP fibers, which exhibited the greatest TM adsorption dynamics. The adsorption patterns correspond to the concentrations of these metals in seawater, with the sequence for pellets being Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Co~Cd, and for fibers Cu > Zn > Pb > Co~Ni > Cd. Speciation modeling supported these findings, indicating that Cu, Pb, and Zn predominantly associate with HA in seawater, facilitating their adsorption on MP, whereas Cd, Co, and Ni mainly form free ions and inorganic complexes, resulting in slower adsorption dynamics. Statistical analysis confirmed the influence of HA on the adsorption of Cd, Pb, Cu, and Ni. By investigating the dynamics of TM adsorption on plastics, the influence of DOM on these two contaminants under marine conditions was evaluated. The presented results can help in forming a better understanding of synergistic plastic and trace metal pollution in marine systems that are relevant at the global level, since both contaminants pose a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occurrence and Ecotoxicological Risk of Emerging Contaminants in Aquatic Environment)
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20 pages, 2036 KiB  
Article
Optimized Derivation of Predicted No-Effect Concentrations (PNECs) for Eight Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Using HC10 Based on Acute Toxicity Data
by Xiao Sun, Ting-Ting Ding, Ze-Jun Wang, Peng Huang and Shu-Shen Liu
Toxics 2023, 11(7), 563; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11070563 - 28 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1771
Abstract
For persistent organic pollutants, a concern of environmental supervision, predicted no-effect concentrations (PNECs) are often used in ecological risk assessment, which is commonly derived from the hazardous concentration of 5% (HC5) of the species sensitivity distribution (SSD). To address the problem [...] Read more.
For persistent organic pollutants, a concern of environmental supervision, predicted no-effect concentrations (PNECs) are often used in ecological risk assessment, which is commonly derived from the hazardous concentration of 5% (HC5) of the species sensitivity distribution (SSD). To address the problem of a lack of toxicity data, the objectives of this study are to propose and apply two improvement ideas for SSD application, taking polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as an example: whether the chronic PNEC can be derived from the acute SSD curve; whether the PNEC may be calculated by HC10 to avoid solely statistical extrapolation. In this study, the acute SSD curves for eight PAHs and the chronic SSD curves for three PAHs were constructed. The quantity relationship of HC5s between the acute and chronic SSD curves was explored, and the value of the assessment factor when using HC10 to calculate PNEC was derived. The results showed that, for PAHs, the chronic PNEC can be estimated by multiplying the acute PNEC by 0.1, and the value of the assessment factor corresponding to HC10 is 10. For acenaphthene, anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, fluoranthene, fluorene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene, the chronic PNECs based on the acute HC10s were 0.8120, 0.008925, 0.005202, 0.07602, 2.328, 12.75, 0.5731, and 0.05360 μg/L, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occurrence and Ecotoxicological Risk of Emerging Contaminants in Aquatic Environment)
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15 pages, 1120 KiB  
Article
Antagonistic Toxic Effects of Surfactants Mixtures to Bacteria Pseudomonas putida and Marine Microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum
by Francisco Ríos, Manuela Lechuga, Ismael Lobato-Guarnido and Mercedes Fernández-Serrano
Toxics 2023, 11(4), 344; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11040344 - 5 Apr 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1809
Abstract
Surfactants can be found in an ever-widening variety of products and applications, in which the combination of several types of surfactants is used to reinforce their properties, looking for synergistic effects between them. After use, they tend to be discarded into wastewater, ending [...] Read more.
Surfactants can be found in an ever-widening variety of products and applications, in which the combination of several types of surfactants is used to reinforce their properties, looking for synergistic effects between them. After use, they tend to be discarded into wastewater, ending up in aquatic bodies with concerning harmful and toxic effects. The aim of this study is the toxicological assessment of three anionic surfactants (ether carboxylic derivative, EC) and three amphoteric surfactants (amine-oxide-based, AO), individually and in binary mixtures of them (1:1 w/w), to bacteria Pseudomonas putida and marine microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) was determined to demonstrate the capacity to reduce surface tension and the toxicity of the surfactants and mixtures. Zeta potential (ζ-potential) and micelle diameter (MD) were also determined to confirm the formation of mixed surfactant micelles. The Model of Toxic Units (MTUs) was used to quantify the interactions of surfactants in binary mixtures and to predict if the concentration addition or response addition principle can be assumed for each mixture. The results showed a higher sensitivity of microalgae P. tricornutum to the surfactants tested and their mixtures than bacteria P. putida. Antagonism toxic effects have been detected in the mixture of EC + AO and in one binary mixture of different AOs; this is to say, the mixtures showed lower toxicity than expected. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occurrence and Ecotoxicological Risk of Emerging Contaminants in Aquatic Environment)
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16 pages, 1972 KiB  
Article
Ecotoxicological Assessment of “Glitter” Leachates in Aquatic Ecosystems: An Integrated Approach
by Manuela Piccardo, Francesca Provenza, Serena Anselmi and Monia Renzi
Toxics 2022, 10(11), 677; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10110677 - 9 Nov 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2746
Abstract
The most worrisome fraction within plastic pollution is that of microplastics (MP). A category of MP almost completely ignored is that of glitter. The objective of this study is to test the toxicity of nine types of glitter leachate (3 soak times: 3, [...] Read more.
The most worrisome fraction within plastic pollution is that of microplastics (MP). A category of MP almost completely ignored is that of glitter. The objective of this study is to test the toxicity of nine types of glitter leachate (3 soak times: 3, 90 and 180 days) on model organisms in freshwater (Allivibrio fischeri, Raphidocelis subcapitata, Daphnia magna) and saltwater (Allivibrio fischeri, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Paracentrotus lividus). An integrated approach was applied to obtain the percentage of ecotoxicological risk. The results show that (i) photosynthesizing primary producers are the most sensitive trophic level; (ii) algae transitioned from growth inhibition to biostimulation; (iii) D. magna showed higher sensitivity after 48 h compared to 24 h; (iv) A. fischeri responded more strongly in saltwater than in freshwater. The integrated data show a greater risk associated with the marine environment, with the highest risk for glitters that are hexagonal and composed of poly-methyl-methacrylate. Our multivariate analysis shows that the toxicity of plastic leaching is a complex phenomenon that depends on the sensitivity of the species, in some cases on the soaking time and on the medium, and is not clearly linked to the polymer type, the contact area or the colors of the particles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occurrence and Ecotoxicological Risk of Emerging Contaminants in Aquatic Environment)
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