MiWa Homepage

The MiWa project is a joint research project of 12 German research institutions dedicated to assess the impact of microplastics on the water cycle. One major part of MiWa is to tackle analytical challenges in detecting synthetic polymers in different matrices, including wastewater, surface waters, drinking water, and ground water as well as river sediments. Applying a range of analytical techniques (µFTIR and µRaman spectroscopy, pyrolysis GC-MS, TGA-FTIR/MS, TED-GC-MS, ICP-MS) the aim is to provide a toolbox of reliable, harmonized analytical methods.

The second part of MiWa, coordinated by Martin Wagner, is dedicated to understanding the biological impacts of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems. We investigate the toxicity in cell-based systems, aquatic invertebrates, and fish. The Frankfurt team focuses on the potential tissue infiltration of very small microplastics, the induction of inflammatory processes and stress in non-model species using a transcriptomics approach (RNAseq, qRT-PCR), and the toxicity of virgin vs aged microplastics.

Coordinator:
Prof. Dr. Martin Jekel
Technical University Berlin
Department Water Quality Control
Straße des 17. Juni 135
D-10623 Berlin

Project Partner:
Dr. Martin Wagner
Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt
Department Aquatic Ecotoxicology
Max-von-Laue-Str. 13
D-60438 Frankfurt am Main
phone ++ 49-69 798-42149
fax ++ 49-69 79842141

Project partners:
Technical University Berlin
Bundesanstalt für Mateialforschung und -prüfung
Technische Universität München
Hochschule Fresenius
Umweltbundesamt
Technologiezentrum Wasser
Berliner Wasserbertiebe
Helmholtzzentrum für Umweltforschung
Unweltbundesamt Bad Elster
Universität Tübingen
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Universität Heidelberg

Website: www.nawam-miwa.de

Start: March 1st, 2016

End: February 28th, 2019

Funded by:

Federal Ministry of Education and Research