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Aged polystyrene nanoplastics and bisphenol A co-exposure impair mitochondrial respiration in juvenile horseshoe crab Tachypleus tridentatus
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Sunlight and weathering don't just break plastic into smaller pieces, they chemically change its surface in ways that make it more toxic, especially when mixed with BPA (a common chemical in plastics). In this study, "aged" plastic nanoparticles combined with BPA caused worse, longer-lasting cell damage in young horseshoe crabs than fresh plastic particles did, by disrupting the cells' energy-producing machinery (mitochondria). Since most plastic pollution studies use fresh, unweathered particles, this suggests real-world environmental plastics, the kind humans and wildlife actually encounter after
Despite mounting evidence that environmental weathering alters the surface chemistry of nanoplastics (NPs), most ecotoxicological studies continue to use pristine particles, leaving the toxicological consequences of NP aging insufficiently resolved. Here, we systematically compared the toxicity of pristine and aged polystyrene NPs (PS-NPs), in combination with bisphenol A (BPA), on juvenile Chinese horseshoe crabs (Tachypleus tridentatus), an endangered IUCN Red List marine sentinel. Six treatments-control, BPA, pristine NPs, aged NPs, pristine NPs + BPA, and aged NPs + BPA-were administered over 21 days, with sampling at days 7 and 21. Biomarkers spanning surface chemistry, mitochondrial function, membrane integrity, respiratory chain activity, and oxidative stress were integrated using IBRv2, PCA, and Pearson correlation. UV aging markedly altered NP surfaces: zeta potential shifted from -5.6 mV to -49.9 mV, and the carbonyl index increased 12.8-fold. IBRv2 scores at day 7 ranked: aged NPs (96.7) > aged NPs + BPA (53.6) > pristine NPs + BPA (44.5) > pristine NPs (37.3) > BPA (21.2); at day 21, the ranking reorganized to aged NPs + BPA (88.7) > pristine NPs (57.3) > aged NPs (49.0) > pristine NPs + BPA (46.5) > BPA (45.0). Critically, aged NPs + BPA caused toxicity dominated by mitochondrial respiratory chain impairment (SDH declining to 22% of control; MDA reaching 206 nmol·mL at day 21), whereas pristine NPs + BPA drove acute membrane lipid peroxidation-a divergence confirmed by PCA. Our findings demonstrate that NP aging shifts the mode, rather than merely the intensity, of combined toxicity with BPA, with implications for environmental risk assessment.
More Papers Like This
Effects of Pristine and UV-Aged Polystyrene Nanoplastics on Post-Molt Horseshoe Crabs Tachypleus tridentatus: Aging-Mediated Divergence in Biological Effects.
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) affect young horseshoe crabs differently depending on whether the plastic has been broken down by sunlight, surprisingly, "fresh" plastic caused more stress to the crabs' bodies than sun-damaged plastic. This matters because horseshoe crabs are vital to coastal ecosystems and medical testing (their blood is used to check vaccine safety), and it shows that how plastics age in the environment changes their potential harm, a factor scientists need to consider when studying how microplastics might affect other species, including humans, through the food chain.
Differential effects of pristine and aged polystyrene nanoplastics on the first molting process in Tachypleus tridentatus
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) harm baby horseshoe crabs by disrupting their ability to molt, or shed their shells to grow, a critical step for survival. Surprisingly, "weathered" plastic particles (the kind that break down from sunlight exposure in real oceans) caused this harm through different, less-understood mechanisms than fresh plastic particles typically used in lab studies. This matters because most plastic pollution in the environment is aged, not fresh, meaning current safety testing may be underestimating real-world risks to marine life, and potentially to the seafood humans eat.
Photoaged polystyrene nanoplastics exposure results in reproductive toxicity due to oxidative damage in Caenorhabditis elegans
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Researchers exposed the roundworm C. elegans to polystyrene nanoplastics that had been aged by sunlight, simulating real-world environmental conditions. The study found that these weathered nanoplastics caused more severe reproductive harm than pristine particles, primarily through increased oxidative stress, suggesting that aging makes plastic particles more toxic to living organisms.
Aged polystyrene microplastics exposure affects apoptosis via inducing mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in early life of zebrafish
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Zebrafish embryos exposed to UV-aged polystyrene microplastics at environmental concentrations showed more severe developmental problems than those exposed to fresh microplastics. The aged particles caused greater oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage, triggering increased cell death during early development -- suggesting that weathered microplastics in the real environment may be more harmful than the pristine particles typically used in lab studies.
Photoaged polystyrene nanoplastics induce perturbation of glucose metabolism in HepG2 cells via oxidative stress
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Researchers exposed human liver cells to polystyrene nanoplastics with varying degrees of UV-induced aging and found that photoaged particles caused more severe disruptions to glucose metabolism than pristine ones. Long-term photoaged nanoplastics triggered dose-dependent metabolic disorders through oxidative stress, while pristine particles only caused effects at high concentrations. The study suggests that weathered nanoplastics in the environment may pose greater health risks than fresh plastic particles.
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