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Phycotoxin-Enriched Sea Spray Aerosols: Methods, Mechanisms, and Human Exposure

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    Ecotoxicology and Public Health

    Phycotoxin-Enriched Sea Spray Aerosols: Methods, Mechanisms, and Human Exposure
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    • Emmanuel Van Acker*
      Emmanuel Van Acker
      Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Campus Coupure, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
      *Email: [email protected]
      More by Emmanuel Van Acker
    • Steve Huysman
      Steve Huysman
      Laboratory of Chemical Analysis, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Campus Merelbeke, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
      More by Steve Huysman
    • Maarten De Rijcke
      Maarten De Rijcke
      Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), InnovOcean site, Wandelaarkaai 7, 8400 Ostend, Belgium
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    • Jana Asselman
      Jana Asselman
      Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Campus Coupure, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
      Blue Growth Research Lab, Ghent University, Campus Oostende, Wetenschapspark 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium
      More by Jana Asselman
      Orcidhttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-0185-6516
    • Karel A. C. De Schamphelaere
      Karel A. C. De Schamphelaere
      Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Campus Coupure, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
      More by Karel A. C. De Schamphelaere
      Orcidhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-5063-922X
    • Lynn Vanhaecke
      Lynn Vanhaecke
      Laboratory of Chemical Analysis, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Campus Merelbeke, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
      Queen’s University Belfast, School of Biological Sciences, Lisburn Road 97, BT7 1NN Belfast, United Kingdom
      More by Lynn Vanhaecke
    • Colin R. Janssen
      Colin R. Janssen
      Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Campus Coupure, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
      Blue Growth Research Lab, Ghent University, Campus Oostende, Wetenschapspark 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium
      More by Colin R. Janssen
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    Environmental Science & Technology

    Cite this: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, 55, 9, 6184–6196
    Click to copy citationCitation copied!
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c00995
    Published April 12, 2021
    Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society
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    Abstract

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    To date, few studies have examined the role of sea spray aerosols (SSAs) in human exposure to harmful and beneficial marine compounds. Two groups of phycotoxins (brevetoxins and ovatoxins) have been reported to induce respiratory syndromes during harmful algal blooms. The aerosolization and coastal air concentrations of other common marine phycotoxins have, however, never been examined. This study provides the first (experimental) evidence and characterization of the aerosolization of okadaic acid (OA), homoyessotoxin, and dinophysistoxin-1 using seawater spiked with toxic algae combined with the realistic SSA production in a marine aerosol reference tank (MART). The potential for aerosolization of these phycotoxins was highlighted by their 78- to 1769-fold enrichment in SSAs relative to the subsurface water. To obtain and support these results, we first developed an analytical method for the determination of phycotoxin concentrations in SSAs, which showed good linearity (R2 > 0.99), recovery (85.3–101.8%), and precision (RSDs ≤ 17.2%). We also investigated natural phycotoxin air concentrations by means of in situ SSA sampling with concurrent aerosolization experiments using natural seawater in the MART. This approach allowed us to indirectly quantify the (harmless) magnitude of OA concentrations (0.6–51 pg m–3) in Belgium’s coastal air. Overall, this study provides new insights into the enriched aerosolization of marine compounds and proposes a framework to assess their airborne exposure and effects on human health.

    Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society

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    Supporting Information

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    The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c00995.

    • Algal culturing methods; details and settings of the MART setup; details of the examination of the different membrane filter types; experimental optimization of the SSA sampling methods and the MART setup; details of the production of SSA-loaded filters (i.e., true blanks) and the verification that differential salt contents (of the filters) did not interfere with the phycotoxin analysis; details of the extraction procedures for the different water phases; details of the examination of the SSA filter collection efficiency; image of the MART; image of a used lifeguard chair; results of the experiment where three different membrane filter types were tested; collected Na+ (in MART experiments) as a function of the sampling time for the quartz and glass fiber filters; distribution of the collected Na+ content (in MART experiments) over different parts of the filter and the filter holder sampling setup; image of the filter and the filter holder setup; RSM plot for hYTX as a function of the optimized quantitative variables; chromatograms showing the absence of interfering matrix constituents (except for SPX-1); distribution of the collected phycotoxin and Na+ contents over the filter and filter holder (for the experiments using artificial and natural seawater); image of the algal cultures; images showing the high foam stability of the natural seawater; bubble plume size distribution of our MART; image showing additional experimental setups of the MART; results of the MART experiment testing different numbers of sampling pumps; results of the experiment examining the potential effect of the differential salt content on the phycotoxin analysis; image of an additional SSA sampling technique setup to test the SSA collection efficiency; Plackett–Burman screening design; Box–Behnken design; summary of the RSM results; details of the instrumental performance for the pure certified reference standards; summary of the validation data concerning deviations of the four identification criteria; and overview of the compounds, chemical classes, or total OC for which enrichment processes have been quantified (PDF)

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    Cited By

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    This article is cited by 19 publications.

    1. Eva Ternon, Julie Dinasquet, Lucia Cancelada, Benjamin Rico, Alexia Moore, Emily Trytten, Kimberly A. Prather, William H. Gerwick, Rodolphe Lemée. Sea-Air Transfer of Ostreopsis Phycotoxins Is Driven by the Chemical Diversity of the Particulate Fraction in the Surface Microlayer. Environmental Science & Technology 2024, 58 (42) , 18969-18979. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c06691
    2. Jinpeng Tang, Chencheng Zhang, Wang Xu, Xuxia Li, Yanyan Jia, Ji Fang, Bi-Xian Mai. Indirect Impact of Eutrophication on Occurrence, Air–Water Exchange, and Vertical Sinking Fluxes of Antibiotics in a Subtropical River. Environmental Science & Technology 2024, 58 (20) , 8932-8945. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c00960
    3. Emmanuel Van Acker, Maarten De Rijcke, Zixia Liu, Jana Asselman, Karel A.C. De Schamphelaere, Lynn Vanhaecke, Colin R. Janssen. Sea Spray Aerosols Contain the Major Component of Human Lung Surfactant. Environmental Science & Technology 2021, 55 (23) , 15989-16000. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04075
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    Environmental Science & Technology

    Cite this: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, 55, 9, 6184–6196
    Click to copy citationCitation copied!
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c00995
    Published April 12, 2021
    Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society
    Request reuse permissions

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