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Size-dependent modulation of tetracycline hydrochloride toxicity by polystyrene micro/nanoplastics in the model freshwater ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (like those breaking down from everyday plastic waste) can make the antibiotic tetracycline more harmful to living cells—and the size of the plastic particle matters a lot. Smaller plastics (50 and 500 nanometers) worsened cell damage and stress, while slightly larger plastic particles (5 micrometers) actually reduced the antibiotic's harmful effects. This matters because plastics and antibiotic residues often show up together in water supplies, and this research (done in a single-celled organism, not humans) suggests we can't assess the risk of these pollutants separately—their
The co-occurrence of micro/nanoplastics and antibiotics in aquatic environments presents complex ecological risks. This study investigated how polystyrene micro/nanoplastics (PS-MNPs) of different sizes (50 nm, 500 nm, and 5 μm) modulate the toxicity of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) in the eukaryotic model Paramecium tetraurelia by integrating phenotypic, physiological, fluorescence imaging, and transcriptomic analyses. Fluorescence imaging showed that combined exposure increased membrane permeability and enhanced cell-associated or retained PS-MNP fluorescence in washed cells in a size-dependent manner. Compared with TCH alone, co-exposure with 50 nm and 500 nm PS-MNPs intensified growth inhibition, reactive oxygen species accumulation, antioxidant enzyme imbalance, and morphological impairment, with the 50 nm group showing pronounced cellular shrinkage and the 500 nm group exhibiting the strongest population decline. Transcriptomic profiles further showed particle-size-dependent molecular response patterns. Co-exposure with 50 nm and 500 nm PS-MNPs involved changes in energy-related metabolism, lipid metabolism, transport-related pathways, protein processing, antioxidant responses, and DNA repair-related processes, with the 500 nm group showing a more prominent redox- and lipid-metabolic profile. In contrast, 5 μm microplastics attenuated TCH-induced population inhibition under the present exposure conditions, suggesting a distinct size-dependent co-exposure response. Overall, these findings suggest that PS-MNPs can act as size-dependent modulators of antibiotic ecotoxicity, highlighting the need to consider particle size and interaction-dependent responses in ecological risk assessment of antibiotic-plastic co-contamination.
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (smaller than a speck of dust) can team up with antibiotics in water to harm algae, the tiny organisms at the base of the food chain, and that the plastic's exact size and surface coating change how toxic the mixture becomes. Interestingly, when plastics and antibiotics mixed together, the combo was often less harmful than antibiotics alone, because the plastic particles soaked up some of the antibiotic. This matters because it shows that studying pollutants one at a time doesn't capture the full picture, real-world mixtures of microplastics and drugs in our water systems behave differently
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Researchers examined how polystyrene microplastics of different sizes affect the ability of marine microalgae to tolerate and break down the antibiotic sulfamerazine. They found that nano-sized plastics were more harmful than larger particles, reducing algal growth and impairing the organisms' ability to degrade the antibiotic. The study reveals that microplastic pollution could interfere with the natural biological breakdown of pharmaceutical contaminants in waterways.
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Researchers conducted a 30-day experiment exposing zebrafish to different sized polyethylene microplastics combined with the antibiotic oxytetracycline. They found that smaller nanoplastics increased antibiotic accumulation in fish liver by up to 44.5%, and the combined exposure caused more severe liver damage than either contaminant alone, with effects worsening as particle size decreased. The study suggests that microplastics can amplify the toxicity of antibiotics in aquatic organisms through enhanced bioaccumulation.
Physiological and molecular responses to different sizes of polystyrene micro/nanoplastics in the model unicellular eukaryote Paramecium tetraurelia
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Researchers exposed single-celled organisms (Paramecium) to polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics of different sizes and found that toxicity increased as particle size decreased. The smallest particles caused the most significant oxidative stress, DNA damage, and disruption to cellular functions including energy metabolism and waste processing. The study provides evidence that nanoplastics pose greater risks to aquatic microorganisms than larger microplastic particles.
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