Development of multiparameter testing systems for analysing the environmental impacts of microplastics
Eurofins Analytical Services
Eurofins Analytical Services has been at the service of its partners for nearly 30 years in Hungary in the fields of environmental protection, food safety and health protection. In addition to performing accredited tests and analyses the company has also been successfully participating in priority R&D activities. Our more than 300-strong workforce have primarily scientific, technical or pharmacologist qualifications. Our analytical processes take place in a state-of-the-art 10,000 m2 building block, where 20 gas chromatographs, 24 liquid chromatographs, 6 LC-QQQ-MS, 1 LC-QTOF-MS, 3 ICP-MS, 2 ICP-OES and 1 MALDI-TOF MS instruments guarantee that we supply our customers with accurate and reliable results.
The Company was among the first ones to start assessments of microplastics in Hungary's waters and later it developed a patented water sampling device, adapted specifically to the freshwater environment, in the context of a NRDIO project.
The researchers and developers participating in the implementation of the project will carry out tasks in their respective fields of specialisation, including sampling, detection and isolation of microplastics from air and water, quantification, pyrolysis, GC and optical microscopic analyses and analyses of organic and inorganic contaminants.
The head of the consortium and professional manager of the project, Dr. Adrienn Micsinai, obtained her PhD degree at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in microbiology, and also has an MBA degree. She has been working for the Company since 2002, holding, among other positions, that of the managing director of the molecular biology subsidiary Eurofins Biomi Kft. Earlier she was project manager of a number of R&D&I projects led by the company.
Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (HUALS, legal successor of Szent István University)
The Department of Environmental Safety, the Department of Environmental Toxicology, Department of Molecular Ecology of the HUALS Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety (HUALS IAES) (the former SZIU Department of Environmental Protection and Environmental Safety, and Regional University Knowledge Centre) has, since its establishment in 1999, been engaged in research, development and innovation activities in the fields of environmental microbiology, environmental safety, toxicology and molecular biology. Its research activities are carried out in the departments' own laboratories, equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Each of the three units is licensed for the performance of genetic engineering activities, and safe microbiological work takes place in department's BSL 2 laboratory. Thousands of tests are carried out each year in the fields of cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, molecular and classical microbiology, along with endocrine disruption impact assessments. As well as high-capacity basic equipment, a bioluminescence plate reader, an absorbance reader, ecotoxicological measuring devices, a PCR and a capillary sequencer, are available for our colleagues. In the research of microplastics a so-called plastic coloniser system – a technique that is suitable for studying microbe communities settling on microplastic surfaces in aqueous medium– has been developed in the context of the Discipline Excellence Programme. The two members of the consortium (Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft. és MATE) carried out the first ever assessments of microplastics contamination in fish ponds using a proprietary, cascade system, using a particle size range-specific, pumping method.
The scientists participating in the implementation of the project will analyse biofilms developing on microplastic particles detected in, and separated from, water and ambient air and assess their public health risks as well as the impacts of chemical agents adsorbed on microplastic particles from an ecotoxicological aspect, in prokaryote-based test systems.
On the part of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, as a member of the consortium, the project will be managed by university associate professor, general Deputy Head of Institution, certified agricultural engineer, Dr. Balázs Kriszt. He obtained his PhD degree in biological sciences and got his second diploma in environmental protection. He focuses on basic and applied research in ecotoxicology from several directions and the biodetoxification of micropollutants in the environment.
The Department of Aquaculture and the Department of Applied Environmental Toxicology of the MATE Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety(formerly known as SZIU Department of Aquaculture) has, since 2006, the largest and best equipped Zebra danio laboratory in the Central and Eastern European region, the only laboratory in Hungary with both a GLP qualification and a genetic technology licence. There are 2 wild, 8 transgenic and 3 mutant Zebra danio strains at the laboratory and the automated fish keeping systems are capable of keeping as many as 12,000 adult Zebra danios. The laboratory performs primarily toxicological and reproductive biological analyses for which it has the necessary infrastructure (incubators, microinjectors, fluorescence and research stereomicroscopes) along with equipment required for molecular toxicological studies.
The scientists participating in the project will study the toxicity and impact of micropollutants in water in a fish model system.
The "fish team" of the project is headed by university professor, doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, certified agricultural engineer dr. Béla Urbányi. He obtained his PhD degree and his DSc in agricultural sciences. His specific fields of research is fish biology sciences, including fish propagation and reproductive biology, fish farming, fish genetics and aquatic toxicology.
HUALS IAES has nearly 600 m2 laboratory space, fully equipped to ensure successful implementation of the project.
UNIVERSITY OF PANNONIA
The work of the research teams of the University of Pannonia is coordinated by university professor, corresponding member of the HAS, Rector of the University and certified chemical engineer, Dr. András Gelencsér. He obtained his PhD degree in environmental science and his DSc in geoscience. His main field of research is focused on air chemistry studies within the broader field of environmental sciences.
Hungarian Academy of Sciences – University of Pannonia, Air Chemistry Research Team
The research team, formed 25 years ago, focuses on studies of atmospheric aerosol particles. Through their extensive international relations the team has been continuously participating in EU research projects as consortium member or leader since 1995. During the past 20 years it achieved internationally acclaimed scientific results primarily in research into carbon containing particles. The current head (Dr. András Gelencsér) and the former head of the research team published a number of English language monographs on this specific field.
Research Centre for Engineering Sciences and NanoLab, University of Pannonia
The state-of-the-art electron microscopy laboratory of the UP-RCES and the NanoLab is equipped with a digital optical microscope, a scanning and a special transmission electron microscope for high (nanometric) resolution LVD and ETD are available for identifying shapes, sizes and morphology, along with a STEM 3/STEM 3+ detector for the detection of transmitted electrons. They identify sample compositions with the help of an energy dispersive X-ray detector. The laboratory has adequate equipment for the preparation of samples (ion beam milling machine for samples characteristic of material science along with an ultramicrotome for slicing biological samples). The director of the RCES, Dr. Tamás Korim, is a certified chemical engineer who obtained his PhD degree in material sciences and technologies. He has thirty years of experience in studying and researching a variety of material systems in which he has built up extensive practical experience in R&D, and in project development. His main field of research covers the studying of the impacts of the micro-structure and composition of structural materials on macroscopic characteristics and attributes.
University of Pannonia – Research Centre for Biochemical, Environmental and Chemical Engineering (UP-RCBECE)
The UP-RCBECE has, ever since 1954, been the leading research institute focusing on wastewater treatment technologies, studying, in particular, biological solutions as well. In its specially designed research laboratories different wastewater treatment technologies can even be studied in parallel. Its model reactors are operated by industry standard automated control systems to maximise reliability. Its analytical laboratory registered as part of the National Research Infrastructure (NRI) enable a wide range of chemical and biological qualification of waters. Director of RCBECE Dr. Endre Domokos has been working on studies of wastewater treatment and modelling its biological processes. He has been involved in the construction, transformation and the efficiency and effectiveness enhancement of multiple wastewater treatment plants. He has extensive experience in research planning and management. He has participated in more than 50 research projects and has been professional manager of more than 25 projects.
Soós Ernő Research and Development Centre (SERDC)
The SERDC has, since 2014, been conducting landmark studies in water treatment and purification. Along with basic research activities, the research centre studies the occurrence of pharmaceutical residues and microplastics in various waters. Using membrane technology it prepares different sample preparation processes to facilitate analytical tasks. The institute uses innovative membrane technologies in addition to conventional technologies in carrying out a variety of oil industry water treatment tasks. It also plays an active role in industrial development, with a specific focus on drinking water treatment, the treatment of ultrapure water (e.g. for power plants, cooling towers), the treatment of water for irrigation in horticulture and agriculture, the desalination of brackish water and the complex treatment of thermal waters. SERDC scientific associate Dr. Renáta Gerencsér-Berta Renáta has been working for several years on the subject of micropollutants, including microplastics, in terms of sample preparation and analytical tests. As a research analyst at Richter Gedeon Nyrt., she has 10 years of experience in pharmaceutical R&D.
