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Polystyrene microplastics reduce the food chain transfer and toxicity of TiO nanoparticles in crustacean through dietary exposure of microalga sp.: impact of visible light and ultraviolet-A radiation.
Summary
Scientists studying ocean food chains found that when tiny plastic particles (microplastics) mix with titanium dioxide nanoparticles, a common ingredient in sunscreen and food coloring, the plastic actually reduced how much of the nanoparticles built up in algae and tiny shrimp-like creatures, along with lessening the harmful effects like cell damage and nervous system disruption. While this is early lab research in marine organisms rather than humans, it's a reminder that pollutants don't act alone in the real world, how different contaminants interact, and even how much sunlight is present, can change their toxicity in ways we're still
Microplastics and nanoparticles are emerging contaminants in the marine system. Although UV-A radiation is environmentally relevant, most ecotoxicity studies overlook its role in modulating contaminant toxicity. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the trophic transfer potential of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO-NPs) in the absence and presence of amine (NH MPs) and carboxyl (COOH MPs) functionalized polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) under both visible-light and UV-A radiation. The experiments were performed using marine microalgae sp. and marine crustacean , representing the producer-consumer food chain. Bio-uptake of Ti in sp. was higher under UV-A treatment than under visible-light illumination. Bio-uptake of Ti in sp. was higher in the absence of PS-MPs. A comparable pattern was observed in the bio-uptake of Ti in following dietary exposure. Consequently, fed with microalgae pre-treated with TiO-NPs reduces survival, enhances oxidative stress, and alters neurotransmitter activity. In contrast, in the presence of PS-MPs, these detrimental effects exhibited by TiO-NPs were reduced. studies with acetylcholinesterase provided complementary mechanistic insights into the observed neurotoxicity. Under both light treatments, the biomagnification factor for TiO-NPs and TiO-NPs + PS-MPs was < 1, indicating no biomagnification from sp. to . Risk quotient analysis revealed the higher ecological risk posed by the TiO-NPs. Pearson correlation and the cluster heatmap revealed that oxidative stress and altered neurotransmitter activity may have impaired survival. Overall, this study shows how light and microplastics modulate the trophic transfer potential and toxicity of TiO-NPs in marine organisms.