New publication: tracking nanoplastics in freshwater microcosms and their impacts to aquatic organisms
Just before the holidays, we got some good news with a paper acceptance If you want to learn more about nanoplastics fate and biological uptake in freshwater systems, check this out!
Miguel Tamayo-Belda, Ana Villanueva Perez-Olivares, Gerardo Pulido-Reyes, Keila Martin-Betancor, Miguel Gonzalez-Pleiter, Francisco Leganes, Denise M. Mitrano, Roberto Rosal, Francica Fernandez-Pinas. Tracking nanoplastics in freshwater microcosms and their impacts to
aquatic organisms. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2023, 445, 130625 external pageFull publication here
Highlights:
- Pd-doped polystyrene nanoplastics were only lethal at high concentrations.
- EC50s ranged from 49 mg NPLs/L for D. magna to 248 mg NPLs/L for C. reinhardtii.
- Pd-doped nanoplastics caused membrane damage by physical interaction.
- After 48 h ∼ 50 % of the nanoplastics remained in water under colloidal stability.
- The presence of organisms promoted nanoplastic settlement in the sediments.
Abstract:
In this work, we used palladium-doped polystyrene NPLs (PS-NPLs with a primary size of 286 ± 4 nm) with an irregular surface morphology which allowed for particle tracking and evaluation of their toxicity on two primary producers (cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. PCC7120 and green algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) and one primary consumer (crustacean, Daphnia magna). the concentration range for Anabaena and C. reinhardtii was from 0.01 to 1000 mg/L and for D. magna, the range was from 7.5 to 120 mg/L.EC50 s ranged from 49 mg NPLs/L for D. magna (48hEC50 s) to 248 mg NPLs/L (72hEC50 s for C. reinhardtii). PS-NPLs induced dose-dependent reactive oxygen species overproduction, membrane damage and metabolic alterations. To shed light on the environmental fate of PS-NPLs, the short-term distribution of PS-NPLs under static (using lake water and sediments) and stirring (using river water and sediments) conditions was studied at laboratory scale. The results showed that most NPLs remained in the water column over the course of 48 h. The maximum percentage of settled particles (∼ 30 %) was found under stirring conditions in comparison with the ∼ 10 % observed under static ones. Natural organic matter increased the stability of the NPLs under colloidal state while organisms favored their settlement. This study expands the current knowledge of the biological effects and fate of NPLs in freshwater environments.