New publication: Assessing implications of nanoplastics exposure to plants with advanced nano metrology techniques
After many years, our "side project" of assessing nanoplastics uptake and impacts on wheat plants is finally published! We got to expand our suite of analytical methods to study plastics and understand the effects of this exposure route much better
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Ana Elena Pradas del Real, Denise M. Mitrano, Hiram Castillo-Michel, Mohammad Wazne, Juan Reyes-Herrera, Emely BBortel, Bernhard Hese, Julie Villanova, Geraldine Sarret. Assessing implciations of nanoplastics exposure to plants with advanced nanometrology techniques. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2022. 128356
Despite the increasing attention given to the impacts of nanoplastics in terrestrial environments, there is limited data about the effects on plants, and the quantitative information on uptake. In the present study, wheat plants grown in hydroponics were exposed to Pd-doped nanoplastics. This allowed us to quantify nanoplastics uptake and translocation to the shoots. Visualization of nanoplastics in roots was performed with synchrotron micro X-ray fluorescence (µXRF). Nanoplastics accumulated on the root epidermis, especially at the root tip and in root maturation zones. A close relationship between plant roots, rhizodeposits and nanoplastics behaviour was shown. Reinforcement of the cell wall in roots was evidenced using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and synchrotron-computed microtomography (µCT). Synchrotron-computed nanotomography (nanoCT) evidenced the presence of globular structures that can correspond to nanoplastics in both the control and the treated roots. By utilizing the inorganic tracer in the doped-nanoplastics, this study paves the road for elucidating interactions in more complex systems by using an integrative approach combining classical phytotoxicity markers with advanced nanometrology techniques.