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Potential Interactions Between Pharmaceuticals and Microbial Biofilms on Microplastic Surfaces
Summary
Researchers exposed polyester fiber microplastics to seven pharmaceuticals in laboratory stream mesocosms and confirmed via HPLC that all compounds adsorbed onto the plastic surface, but found that pharmaceutical exposure at environmentally relevant concentrations did not meaningfully alter bacterial or algal biofilm communities over 15 days.
Microplastics (MPs) and pharmaceuticals are common contaminants in urban streams, where MPs are colonized by microbial biofilms. This study tested whether pharmaceuticals adsorb onto MPs and alter microbial biofilm communities. Polyester fibers were added to twelve laboratory stream mesocosms, and a subset received seven pharmaceuticals at environmentally relevant concentrations. After 15 days, MP and water samples were collected. HPLC confirmed the adsorption of all pharmaceuticals onto MPs. Amplicon sequencing revealed that pharmaceutical exposure did not significantly change bacterial or algal diversity or community composition on MPs or in stream water. The lack of effect may reflect the low pharmaceutical concentrations or the short experimental duration.