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Swim in Plastics: Clean Nanoplastics Cause Minimal Mortality but Alter Neurobehavioral and Molecular Rhythms in Fish

Environmental Science & Technology 2025 9 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 63 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Xiaoyu Duan, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Xin Wang, Xin Wang, Xin Wang, Xin Wang, Xin Wang, Xin Wang, Elvis Genbo Xu, Yuyue Huang, Xin Wang, Mohamed Helal, Mohamed Helal, Xin Wang, Yuyue Huang, Yuyue Huang, Xin Wang, Mohamed Helal, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Xiaoyu Duan, Elvis Genbo Xu, Yuyue Huang, Xin Wang, Xin Wang, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Morten Frendø Ebbesen, Elvis Genbo Xu, Xin Wang, Xin Wang, Xin Wang, Elvis Genbo Xu, Xiaoyu Duan, Yuyue Huang, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Jonathan R. Brewer, Jonathan R. Brewer, Xin Wang, Yuyue Huang, Yuyue Huang, Yuyue Huang, Yuyue Huang, Morten Frendø Ebbesen, Xiaoyu Duan, Xin Wang, Elvis Genbo Xu, Xin Wang, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Henrik Holbech, Elvis Genbo Xu, Jonathan R. Brewer, Jonathan R. Brewer, Xin Wang, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Xin Wang, Xin Wang, Xin Wang, Elvis Genbo Xu, Shan Wang Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Mohamed Helal, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Changzhu Wu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Henrik Holbech, Henrik Holbech, Henrik Holbech, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Elvis Genbo Xu, Shan Wang

Summary

This zebrafish study found that even clean nanoplastics with no added chemicals caused changes in behavior and disrupted the body's internal clock at the molecular level, despite not causing death. Different surface charges on the nanoplastics triggered different effects, with positively charged particles being the most disruptive. The findings suggest that nanoplastics can affect brain function and biological rhythms at exposure levels that might appear safe based on survival alone.

Polymers

Body Systems

Nervous

Models

Zebrafish

Nanoplastics (NPs) pose potential ecological and health impacts. While previous studies have highlighted inconsistent toxicity levels of NPs, knowledge remains limited about the specific effects of different NPs on embryonic development, early life-stage behaviors, and bodily uptake. This study examines the effects of polystyrene NPs (PS-NPs) with different surface charges, plain polystyrene (PS), amino-modified (PS-NH<sub>2</sub>), and carboxyl-modified (PS-COOH) on zebrafish early life stages. High-resolution 3D bioimaging confirmed differential internalization: PS-COOH accumulated in the yolk and intestine, while PS-NH<sub>2</sub> localized mainly in the intestine. PS-NPs up to 10 ppm did not significantly affect mortality or hatching rates, likely due to effective dialysis, minimizing toxic chemical leaching. PS-NP exposure led to noninflated swim bladders and affected swimming. RNA sequencing identified impacted neurological molecular pathways like circadian rhythm and visual function; weighted gene coexpression network analysis indicated strong correlations between key gene modules and phenotypic traits like eye development and dopamine level. We highlight the low acute toxicity of clean dialyzed NPs despite bodily uptake and surface-charge-dependent sublethal neurotoxicity. Overall, plain PS-NPs induced significant individual-level effects, while charged PS-NPs caused stronger molecular-level alterations; toxicity profiles varied across biological levels, complicating hazard assessment and underscoring the need for population-level studies on ecological impacts.

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