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Toxic effects of fluoxetine-loaded onto virgin or aged polypropylene, polyamide and polyvinyl chloride microparticles on Daphnia magna
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Researchers tested whether microplastics loaded with the antidepressant fluoxetine could transfer the drug into the food chain using water fleas as a model organism. They found that all types of microplastics carrying fluoxetine were toxic to the water fleas, with virgin plastics causing more harm than weathered ones. The study provides evidence that microplastics can act as carriers for pharmaceutical pollutants in aquatic environments, delivering harmful chemicals to organisms that ingest them.
There is an increasing recognition that microplastics can act as a vector for micropollutants when co-occurring in the environment and that pollutant-loaded microplastics can become integral to food-webs. To evaluate whether fluoxetine-loaded microplastics can act as a vector for fluoxetine to enter the food chain, a toxicity assay with Daphnia magna neonates was performed. This study evaluated the fluoxetine availability when adsorbed onto virgin or aged polypropylene, polyamide, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Results demonstrated that fluoxetine-loaded microplastics displayed toxic effects for all microplastic types, with varying toxicity depending on plastic type and weathering. D. magna ingested microplastics in all experiments that microplastics were present, but survival rates were not significantly affected by microplastics alone. Neonate mortality did not correlate with the adsorption/desorption capacity of the microplastics. Fluoxetine showed the highest adsorption on virgin and aged polypropylene (83-98 %), followed by aged polyamide (25-68 %) and PVC (38-90 %). While negligible desorption occurred with polypropylene, polyamide and PVC exhibited up to 20 % desorption. However, higher mortality was observed with fluoxetine-loaded virgin polypropylene (30 %), polyamide (40 %), and PVC (35 %) compared to aged particles (0-10 %). The results indicate that microplastic can enter the food-chain and act as a vector for pollutants, exhibiting hazardous effects to wildlife.
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Intergenerational and biological effects of roxithromycin and polystyrene microplastics to Daphnia magna
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Researchers studied the intergenerational effects of the antibiotic roxithromycin combined with polystyrene microplastics on water fleas (Daphnia magna) across multiple generations. They found that UV-aged microplastics altered the carrier effects on the antibiotic compared to pristine particles, changing survival and reproductive outcomes. The study suggests that the aging and weathering state of microplastics in the environment influences how they interact with pharmaceutical pollutants and their combined toxicity.
Aging microplastics enhances the adsorption of pharmaceuticals in freshwater
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Researchers found that aging microplastics through photo-oxidation significantly increases their ability to adsorb pharmaceutical compounds from freshwater compared to virgin particles. Among the drugs tested, fluoxetine showed the highest adsorption, binding to all aged microplastic types at rates up to 99%. The study highlights that environmentally weathered microplastics may act as more effective carriers of pharmaceutical pollutants in freshwater ecosystems than previously assumed.
Microplastic-mediated transport of PCBs? A depuration study with Daphnia magna
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This study used the water flea Daphnia magna to investigate whether microplastics can affect how persistent organic pollutants like PCBs are eliminated from aquatic organisms. The experiment found that microplastics could act as a vehicle for contaminant transport, supporting the concern that they change how organisms are exposed to legacy pollutants.
Assessment of intake and effect of microplastics and its combination with metals in experimental (Daphnia magna) and environmental conditions (freshwater fish)
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Researchers assessed the intake and effects of microplastics and their combination with metals using Daphnia magna as an experimental model and freshwater fish under environmental conditions, investigating how microplastics adsorb and transport harmful metals in freshwater systems.
Polystyrene microplastics alter the trophic transfer and biotoxicity of fluoxetine in an aquatic food chain
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Polystyrene microplastics changed how the antidepressant fluoxetine moves through a food chain of brine shrimp and zebrafish. While microplastics increased fluoxetine buildup in shrimp, they actually reduced its accumulation in fish and lessened some of its brain-specific toxic effects. However, microplastics worsened other types of damage in fish, including oxidative stress and immune disruption, showing that the combined effects of these pollutants are unpredictable.
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