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Polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene nanoplastics toxicity in vitro: Comparative analysis of paraquat adsorption and cytotoxicity
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Tiny plastic particles from common products (like water bottles, made of PET plastic) can act like sponges for toxic chemicals, including the weed-killer paraquat, and carry them into our cells. In lab tests, these PET nanoplastics soaked up more paraquat and caused more cell damage than another common plastic type (PP), and the combination of plastic plus pesticide was more harmful than either alone. This suggests that plastic pollution in our environment may make certain toxic chemicals more dangerous by acting as delivery vehicles into our bodies, an interaction that's rarely considered in current health and safety assessments.
According to global statistics, approximately 400 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide each year, yet only about 9% is recycled. Environmental degradation of plastics generates microplastics and nanoplastics, which have been shown to induce oxidative stress, genotoxicity, and endocrine disruption. Additionally, nanoplastics can adsorb environmental pollutants, act as transport vectors within biological systems, and alter pollutant toxicokinetics. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of paraquat adsorption and in vitro cytotoxicity of polyethylene terephthalate nanoplastics (n-PET) and polypropylene nanoplastics (n-PP). The results showed that n-PET exhibited significantly higher adsorption capacity for paraquat than n-PP, with maximum interaction observed at pH 11 and particle sizes below 100 nm. In vitro experiments using the human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell line demonstrated higher cytotoxicity for n-PET compared to n-PP. Co-exposure to n-PET and paraquat resulted in significantly greater cytotoxic effects than exposure to either agent alone. IC₅₀ values were determined at 24, 48, and 72 h. Furthermore, both nanoplastics disrupted cellular redox homeostasis, with n-PET inducing a more pronounced oxidative imbalance than n-PP. These findings indicate that n-PET may act as a stronger carrier of paraquat and pose a greater toxicological risk under co-exposure scenarios, highlighting the importance of nanoplastic-pollutant interactions in environmental risk assessment.
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