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Preliminary insights into the release behavior of dissolved organic matter from aged microplastics in seawater: Effects of aging types
Summary
When plastic bits break down in the ocean from sunlight and algae/bacteria growth, they don't just fall apart into smaller pieces—they also leak dissolved chemical compounds into the water, and this study found that plastics exposed to *both* sunlight and biological growth release far more of these compounds than plastics exposed to just one. This matters because these released substances become part of the seawater chemistry that marine life is exposed to, and since we eat seafood, understanding how plastics break down in the ocean helps scientists better predict what ends up in our food chain. This is early-stage lab research, though, so more work is needed to understand the real-
Microplastics (MPs) entering the ocean experience multiple aging driven by photochemical and biological processes, resulting in substantial release of dissolved organic matter (DOM). However, limited attention has been paid to the differences and correlations in the influences of ultraviolet irradiation (UV), biofilm formation (Bio), and their coupled process (Bio-UV) on the release behavior of MP-DOM in complex marine environments. Herein, polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-MPs, as commonly encountered plastic particles in marine environments, were first subjected to UV-, Bio- and coupled Bio-UV aging, and then leached in artificial seawater for 10 days. The collected MP-DOM was analyzed in terms of the contents and optical characteristics. The results showed that three aging processes led to obviously different alterations in MPs surface properties, including morphological changes, decreased hydrophobicity, and accumulation of biomass. During seawater immersion, Bio-UV-MPs experienced much higher release of DOM than others, presenting the synergistic promoting effect of UV- and Bio-aging on the release of MP-DOM. According to spectroscopic analysis, the DOM from UV-MPs and Bio-MPs had their own specific humic-like components, which were derived from UV oxidation and biofilm formation respectively, and fluorescent component composition for Bio-UV-MPs resembled Bio-MPs. The results indicated that Bio-aging process may impair the potential contribution of prior UV-aging to the fluorescence components. This study elucidates the distinct effects of aging types on the release behavior of MP-DOM, thereby advancing our understanding of the environmental fate of MPs and their derivatives in complex marine environments.