National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)

Estrogens represent a broad class of compounds that act on the hormonal system and consequently cause adverse health effects to humans and/or to organisms in aquatic systems. They also show synergetic and antagonistic effects, which can only be determined by a bioassay such as CALUX. Besides, microplastics become a severe concern for aquatic systems since they can accumulate inorganic and organic pollutants including estrogens, however, the impact of microplastics on estrogen bioavailability to biota has not been studied in detail. We selected an estuarine tidal flat to study the transport and transformation of estrogens in sediment under the influence of microplastics. A tidal flat is a transition zone and very challenging for research because it experiences both seawater and freshwater mixing, and the alternation of flooding and air exposure. In this study, we apply an advanced in-situ sampling technique of DGT equipped with different pore-sizes of the diffusive domain to sample the estrogens and also to differentiate the influence of various microplastic sizes. Classic analytical instruments will be used by BJUT to analyse estrogens and determine microplastics, while at VUB the CALUX bioassay will be applied to determine estrogen activity considering antagonistic and synergestic effects. The proposed methods will be validated in the two involved labs and applied in two representative estuaries in China and Belgium.