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Release behavior of dibutyl phthalate from polyvinyl chloride microplastics in gastric fluid system: Effects of microplastic characteristics and pepsin
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A lab study tested how a chemical additive called dibutyl phthalate escapes from PVC microplastics in a simulated stomach fluid. Smaller plastic particles and higher chemical content led to more release, and an enzyme called pepsin increased release further, nearly doubling the amount compared to enzyme-free conditions.
Ubiquitous microplastics (MPs) can be inadvertently ingested by organisms, and plasticizers released from them may pose potential exposure risks to wildlife and humans. However, the release behavior of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) MPs in digestive tract environments remains poorly understood. In this study, the release behavior of DBP from PVC-MPs under simulated gastric fluid (SGF) conditions was investigated, with particular emphasis on the effects of microplastic characteristics and pepsin. It was found that smaller particle size and higher DBP content resulted in greater DBP release from PVC-MPs. In addition, the presence of pepsin facilitated DBP release. The maximum release amount of DBP was measured to be 1.536 mg/g in pepsin-containing SGF, which was 1.62 times that observed in pepsin-free SGF. Meanwhile, the release rate constant of DBP in pepsin-containing SGF was up to 1.79 times that in pepsin-free SGF. Molecular dynamics simulations suggested that pepsin could bind to the PVC-MP surface, potentially alter the interfacial interactions between PVC-MPs and DBP, and contribute to DBP dissociation from PVC-MPs. Density functional theory calculations further indicated that the stronger interaction between pepsin and DBP may contribute to enhanced DBP release, with electrostatic interactions, van der Waals interactions, and hydrogen bonding potentially involved. These findings could improve our understanding of the release behavior of plasticizers from MPs under SGF conditions.
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