As creators of the "NanoFind" project, we have a deep appreciation for being able to contribute to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations. Pollution in general is mentioned frequently among the 17 SDGs. This undeniably encouraged us to look for deeper meaning in our project and find certain target areas that it could contribute to. By acknowledging the eligibility of the "NanoFind" project to current SDGs, we recognised a great potential that our work could have on certain target sustainable development objectives like improving water quality, obtaining responsible production and consumption practices, preserving life under water and making partnerships to ensure success of set sustainability goals.

Target of interest - 6.3 [improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally];

According to scientific literature, the water we consume today contains a broad range of pollutants, some of which are byproducts of human activities [1]. Plastics as well as their respective small-sized fragments (mesoplastics, microplastics) are considered to be major pollutants of various water sources [2]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) technical report on Microplastics in drinking-water (WHO, 2019), bottled water is one of the direct sources of microplastics. Yet another study found microplastics in 93% tested water bottles across nine countries that are producers of 11 popular consumer brands [3]. With such information present, it cannot further be ignored that plastic utilization has to be reduced in certain ways or as certain products (i.e. reducing production of water bottles).

Microplastics, which are smaller than 1µm, comprise a subset of plastic particles, also known as nanoplastics. According to WHO (2019) there is insufficient information to draw firm conclusions on the toxicity of plastic particles and particularly the nano size particles, no reliable information suggests it is a concern. However, over the past 3 years, the research area of nanoplastic pollution and toxicity expanded significantly. (Fig. 1)

Some of the most important findings from the latest research on nanoplastics suggest that nanoplastics have the likelihood to accumulate in living bodies of organisms, mostly in deep tissues, due to high potential of membrane penetration [5]. Studies have demonstrated cytotoxicity, oxidative damage in human cell lines and disturbances to the innate immune system and physiological activities in model organisms [6-8]. These and many more findings about nanoplastics were obtained due to advancement in analytical methods used for these studies.

The "NanoFind" project aims to contribute to the 6th SDG (Target 6.3) by providing a novel, yet easily accessible tool for regular monitoring of nanoplastic particles in valuable water sources. With this approach water quality could be evaluated for this certain pollutant and the gained data used to enhance development of treatment methods. Other regulations should be implemented as follows: reducing the production proportions of plastic particles used in consumer products (i.e. microplastics in cosmetics), declaring all waste containing plastic particles as hazardous and managing this type of waste responsibly. It is worth acknowledging that for the being nanoplastic pollution may not sound alarming to many, however actions taken now will serve humanity and wildlife greatly as there is no guarantee what unknown dangers nanoplastic pollution may bring in the near and distant future.

Targets of interest:

• 12.5 [substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse]
• 12.8 [ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature]

The most frequently mentioned problems with consumption and production are the highly increased expansion of the food sector, health issues related to obesity and hunger as well as poor water quality in low-income countries. While these remain the main topics for this SDG, plastic production and consumption does not seem to be well-acknowledged.

We believe that the "NanoFind" project has the potential to raise awareness towards this sector of production and consumption and encourage reasonable and conscious usage of plastic materials and consumer products made from them (Target 12.5).

According to waste management facility "Ekobazė" - stakeholders that contributed to the development of the "NanoFind" project - the created technology for detection of nanoplastics may provide convincing evidence that will make those around us believe how serious and complex plastic pollution is and that sometime in the future it will irreversibly affect humanity if prevention strategies will not be implemented. In addition, we contributed to this goal during our organized presentations and events by spreading awareness of plastic pollution and inspiring people to choose a more sustainable lifestyle.

We aim to contribute to the 12th SDS (Target 12.5) by convincing producers and consumers that it all starts from us as individuals and if society were to accept a uniform view in regard to sustainable production and consumption of plastics, this could be a major step from which the world would remain a suitable place for living.

Target of interest:

• 14.1 [prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution; indicator (b) plastic debris density]

Plastic and marine pollution is considered to be one of the main causes of ocean endangerment. It is said that plastic pollution is choking the ocean due to smaller plastic fragments being mistakenly ingested as food or reducing oxygen levels in nearshore surface waters and leading to suffocation of the life below water in those areas. Recent data, provided in the SDGS report 2022, stated that in 2021 more than 17M metric tons of plastic entered the ocean. Even though this number comprises only 4,5% of the total global plastic production, 80% of that plastic waste comes from land-based sources [9]. This data, in turn, suggests that land-based activities have to be evaluated for contribution to plastic waste release into water bodies and the amount of plastic debris density they account for.

With the help of the “NanoFind” project, we aim to contribute to the 14th SDG (Target 14.1) by collaborating with large plastic production institutions and consumption regulators to encourage them to evaluate their release-of-plastic footprint which could be measured with the help of our identification tool for nanoplastics.

Target of interest:

• 17.16 [enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries]

Partnerships are crucial when seeking change within the global community. The more interested parties involved, the more impactful actions taken to accomplish wide scale sustainable development goals. One of the biggest sustainable development goals that "NanoFind" is seeking - to accelerate development of accessible tools for efficient and easy-to-implement monitoring of nanoplastic pollution across the globe. We recognised a great need for a strong foundation to be built in this area of environmental monitoring as did stakeholders, such as the biggest water supplier in Lithuania "Vilniaus vandenys" and waste treatment plant "Ekobazė", who believed in the success of the "NanoFind" project. Starting from detection of nanoplastics to gain information on pollution tendencies, further partnerships will tackle ways that this technology could be implemented to improve commercial degradation processes for plastics and remediation strategies used in day to day treatment of wastewater. Although our "BIG" goals seem futuristic, we believe that with the help of partnerships, our technology could help share knowledge between high-income and low-income countries and offer expertise in monitoring nanoplastic pollution.