Invertebrate Species for the Bioavailability and Accumulation Assessment of Manufactured Polymer-Based Nano- and Microplastics

Bioaccumulation tests with invertebrates have recently been discussed as a suitable alternative to bioaccumulation tests with metal- or metal oxide-based nanoparticles in fish for regulatory assessment. In the present study, as a first step, we investigated the suitability of three invertebrate species for bioaccumulation tests with nano- and microplastics. In a laboratory approach the freshwater bivalve Corbicula fluminea, the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca, and the terrestrial isopod Porcellio scaber were exposed to fluorescently labeled nano- and microplastics to evaluate their suitability to estimate the bioavailability and bioaccumulation of these test items. No bioaccumulation was observed in H. azteca or P. scaber. In contrast, the measurement of the relative fluorescence of the test items in the soft tissue and the feces of the filter-feeding bivalve allowed us to derive data that may be useful for the regulatory bioaccumulation assessment of manufactured nano- and microplastics. The developed measurement method using fluorescence represents a time-efficient and cost-effective analytical method for manufactured nano- and microplastics in laboratory studies for regulatory assessment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:961-974. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.