Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche ''Togo Rosati''

MICROPLASTICS IN EDIBLE AQUATIC ORGANISMS: ECOTOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS, TRANSFER OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO BACTERIA BIODEGRADATION (PLASTICON)

Destinatario Istituzionale: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche "Togo Rosati"

Tipologia: Ordinary/Progetti ordinari di Ricerca Finalizzata

Finanziamento Assegnato: € 359.000

IRG: Veterinary

Study section: Food Safety

Parole Chiave: Development of innovative methods for the detection and quantification of chemical substances of different origin (pharmaceutical, environmental, biological or consequent to industrial transformation) in foods and the evaluation of their impact on consumer health.

Altre parole chiave: Microplastic in aquatic commercial species and their role as vehicles of chemical contaminants, plastic additives and pathogens , Plastic bacteria degradation.

Principal Investigator: Donatella Ottaviani

Anno di Finanziamento: 2019

Summary: Microplastics (MPs) are increasingly documented in aquatic organisms and their trophic transfer along food webs is raising concern for food safety. This project aims to characterize MPs occurrence in several freshwater and marine commercial species. Ecotoxicological risks will be evaluated also in laboratory exposed mussels (M. galloprovincialis) testing the MPs adverse effects and their role as vectors of chemical additives and contaminants (such as phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and flame retardants (FRs)), modulating their bioavailability towards mussels. Moreover, the role of MPs in transferring pathogenic vibrios to bivalves and MPs susceptibility to biodegradation will be investigated. This project will develop novel analytical tools for detecting MPs and set risk indicators for edible aquatic organisms. Standardized MPs analytical protocols will be transferred to the NHS laboratories.