Claire Coutris
Research Scientist
Biography
Claire is a research scientist at NIBIO, since 2013. She holds a PhD in Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Norway), and a MSc in Ecology and Ecotoxicology from the University of Toulouse (France).
Claire works with soil biology, environmental chemistry, and the fate of emerging contaminants in soils. She conducts toxicity tests on soil microorganisms, invertebrates and plants in mesocosms, with an emphasis on the impact on soil processes. She works on several Norwegian Research Council projects on recycling of waste resources (biogas digestate, sewage sludge, compost) to soils.
Authors
Anastasia Georgantzopoulou Sebastian Kühr Ralf Kaegi Mark Rehkämper Ralph A. Sperling Karl Andreas Jensen Ana Catarina Almeida Claire CoutrisAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Anastasia Georgantzopoulou Sebastian Kühr Ralph Kaegi Mark Rehkämper Ralph A. Sperling Karl Andreas Jensen Ana Catarina Almeida Claire CoutrisAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Claire Coutris Karl Andreas Jensen Pierre-Adrien Rivier Selena Deviller Anastasia Georgantzopoulou Sebastian KuehrAbstract
By the time they enter soils, engineered nanomaterials (ENM) have undergone physicochemical transformations and may no longer resemble the pristine materials which have been thoroughly investigated during two decades of nanotoxicology research. Is the behavior of environmentally relevant chemical forms of ENM different from that of other metallic species present in soils? Are they more available to soil organisms than their naturally occurring counterparts? The present study aimed at answering these questions, through the use of isotopically enriched ENMs, which could be traced at low concentrations in soil microcosms, despite high natural metallic background. The relevance of the chemical forms was ensured by introducing isotopically enriched 109Ag, 68ZnO and 46TiO2 ENM to a wastewater treatment plant and using the resulting sewage sludge (final sink for most ENM) as amendment in soil microcosms with earthworms. The sludge application rate to soil was similar to that used in agriculture and the experiment lasted for a month. Protocols using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry were developed for determination of isotope ratios in complex matrixes, such as soil and organisms. For 109Ag ENM, the dissolved fraction in soil (i.e. the most easily accumulated in organisms) was extremely low and comparable to that of Ag naturally present in soil, and transfer factors to earthworms were similar to those of natural Ag. For 46TiO2 ENM, the transfer to earthworms was negligible, similarly to what was observed for natural Ti. While no difference in behavior and bioavailability was observed between ENM and their naturally occurring counterparts for Ag and Ti, different results were obtained for Zn. The dissolved fraction for 68ZnO ENM was 3-5 times higher than for Zn forms naturally present in soil, and transfer factors to earthworms twice those of natural Zn. Overcoming long-standing challenges related to environmental relevance of chemical forms and concentrations in nanotechnology studies, the approach provides valuable insight into behavior and impacts of environmentally relevant forms of ENM in soils.
