Veils of Secrecy: Nanomaterials Released into the Marine Environment

About this Research Topic

Background

The field of nanotechnology is one of the most rapidly-growing technologies, since a wide range of nanomaterials are nowadays included in hundreds of products (e.g. consumer, industrial). Inevitably, nanomaterials are released into the marine environment but their fate, potential interaction with biota and subsequent chemical and physical transformations (e.g. dilution, aggregation, complexation) remain unknown.

Apart from the largely unknown “fate” issue, great concern also exists in the literature and policy-making round-tables regarding the exact nature and concentration of nanomaterials in a given product as well as regarding the expected concentration of nanomaterials in future oceans. Modeling approaches are currently evolving to meet the latter issue; environmentally relevant concentrations of nanomaterials are assumed to range around the ng L-1 level (or the μg L-1 at hot spots of nanomaterial pollution) while sampling expeditions frequently do not detect these levels. In fact, the detected concentrations are sometimes lower than the predicted ones or even below the detection limit of the analytical tools that are currently available, making the need for technological improvement another urgent race in the scientific community. The veil of secrecy regarding the potential toxicity of nanomaterials in the marine environment is perplexed as only single species are examined under over-simplified conditions, thus disregarding the complex nature of the marine ecosystem. Furthermore, the exact origin of toxicity remains unclear and several hypotheses have been raised to define it, while different ones have been raised to explain the frequent positive impact of nanomaterials on marine microbial growth. This Research Topic aims to bring new insights in the above-mentioned issues of nanotechnology.

This Research Topic aims to publish original manuscripts regarding the potential toxicity of nanomaterials to marine species and whole communities under – as far as possible – realistic conditions; microcosm, mesocosm as well as culture experiments, targeting key taxa and/or considering climate change effects and/or the extra burden of other pollutants, are welcome. A broad spectrum of toxicity aspects is expected to be covered (chemical and physical aspects, as well as biological ones such as community resilience and tolerance and relevant molecular mechanisms that are involved) and a broad spectrum of approaches is expected to contribute (for example, theoretical, analytical, modeling approaches) to the nanomaterial toxicity concerns regarding future oceans’ sustainability. Reviews, original articles, methods, perspectives and opinions as well as notes and data reports are welcome.

Keywords: nanotechnology, ecotoxicology, tolerance, environmental friendly concentrations

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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