Benoît Jean Dominique Ferrari

Dr. Benoît J.D. Ferrari studied Biochemistry and Biology and completed his PhD in Ecotoxicology at the University of Lorraine (Metz, France) in 2000. After several years at the University of Geneva (Forel F.A. Institute, Geneva, Switzerland; 2002-2008) and Irstea (Formerly Cemagref, Lyon, France; 2000-2002 and 2008-2013), he joined the Swiss Centre of Applied Ecotoxicology (Centre Ecotox Eawag/EPFL) in October 2013 as group leader of the soil and sediment ecotoxicology group at Lausanne. During his different mandates, he was implied as (co-)proponent in different research projects supported e.g. by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the French National Research Agency or the European Framework Programme for Research. His main areas of interest cover the ecodynamic of contaminants and their impact on the ecophysiology of organisms. Particularly, he is involved in 1) the development of exposure and effect indicators to evaluate the chemical stresses, 2) the integration of such indicators in laboratory- and field-based approaches to assess the quality of aquatic ecosystems, 3) the development of adapted bioassays for active biomonitoring, and 4) the transfer of such ecotoxicological tools and approaches towards end-users.

Bio accessibility of tire-associated organic chemicals in fish gut (Oncorhynchus mykiss): insights from an in vitro digestion model

Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Benoît Jean Dominique Ferrari, Thibault Béranger Masset, Kristin Schirmer

Tire and Road Wear Particles (TRWP) account for an important part of the anthropogenic particles released into the environment. There are scientific knowledge gaps as to the potential bio accessibility of chemicals associated with TRWP to aquatic organisms. This study aimed to investigate the solubilization of five tire-associated chemicals into fish gut using an in vitro digestion model (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Our results show that the targeted compounds were partly and rapidly solubilized into simulated fluids (SF) present in the gastrointestinal tract within a typical gut transit time for fish (3h in SFGASTRIC and 24h in SFINTESTINAL). The effects of food co-ingestion on the solubilization of tire-associated chemicals was compound-specific and either lowered or stimulated their solubilization into the gut fluids. Therefore, the uptake of the tire associated chemicals by the epithelial cells and related toxicity to fish need to be investigated.

2022

Bioaccessibility of organic compounds associated with tire particles using a fish in vitro digestive model: solubilization kinetics and effects of food co-ingestion

Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Benoît Jean Dominique Ferrari, Dominique Grandjean, Luke Christopher Harris, Thibault Béranger Masset, Kristin Schirmer

Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) account for an important part of the polymer particles released into the environment. There are scientific knowledge gaps as to the potential bioaccessibility of chemicals associated with TRWP to aquatic organisms. This study investigated the solubilization and bioaccessibility of seven of the most widely used tire-associated organic chemicals and four of their degradation products from cryogenically milled tire tread (CMTT) into fish digestive fluids using an in vitro digestion model based on Oncorhynchus mykiss. Our results showed that 0.06% to 44.1% of the selected compounds were rapidly solubilized into simulated gastric and intestinal fluids within a typical gut transit time for fish (3 h in gastric and 24 h in intestinal fluids). The environmentally realistic scenario of coingestion of CMTT and fish prey was explored using ground Gammarus pulex. Coingestion caused compound-specific changes in solubilization, either increasing or decreasing the compounds’ bioaccessibility in simulated gut fluids compared to CMTT alone. Our results emphasize that tire-associated compounds become accessible in a digestive milieu and should be studied further with respect to their bioaccumulation and toxicological effects upon passage of intestinal epithelial cells.

2022

Bioaccessibility, bioaccumulation and effects of tire-associated chemicals for aquatic and soil-dwelling organisms

Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Benoît Jean Dominique Ferrari, Thibault Béranger Masset, Kristin Schirmer

Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) are produced by the friction between the tires and road and consist of polymer-containing tread with pavement encrustations. There are many data gaps remaining regarding their fate and potential toxicological impact on the aquatic and terrestrial environment. This study aimed to (i) investigate the solubilization and bioaccessibility of 11 tire-associated chemicals into fish gastric and intestinal fluids using an in vitro digestion model. The effect of food co-ingestion on the bioaccessibility of the chemicals was also assessed by introducing ground Gammarus pulex as a food surrogate in the digestion vessels. We also (ii) explored the effects of tire particles at environmentally relevant soil concentrations on survival, growth and reproductive output of an earthworm species, Eisenia fetida. The bioaccumulation potential of several commonly used tire-related chemicals was established and their bioaccumulation kinetics were determined. Our results show that the targeted compounds were rapidly solubilized into fish simulated digestive fluids within an average gut transit time of 3h in gastric fluid and 24h in intestinal fluid. Only a small percentage (0.06%) of hydrophobic tire-associated chemicals was found to be solubilized in the simulated fluids compared to more hydrophilic chemicals for which up to 44% of the total concentration in tire particles was solubilized. The effects of food co-ingestion on the solubilization of tire-associated chemicals was compound-specific and either lowered or stimulated their solubilization into the gut fluids. Our experiments also indicate that tire-associated chemicals were bioavailable to earthworms in natural soil spiked with tire particles albeit with a significant chemical increase in the organisms only in a highly contaminated soil (5% tire particles). The chemicals investigated did not show strong bioaccumulation potential: the Biota-Soil Accumulation Factor was

2022

Bioaccessibility, bioaccumulation and effects of tire-associated chemicals for aquatic and soil-dwelling organisms

Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Benoît Jean Dominique Ferrari, Thibault Béranger Masset, Kristin Schirmer

2022