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Evaluation of polystyrene nanoplastic removal from aquatic environments and antibacterial activity against various harmful bacteria using jellyfish extract
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Researchers found that immune-response extract from moon jellyfish effectively captured polystyrene nanoplastics from water at removal rates up to nearly 90% and showed antibacterial activity against six harmful pathogens, though concentrations above 0.01 mg/mL may alter aquatic bacterial communities and require careful management.
Nanoplastics, increasingly detected in diverse environments, pose significant potential health risks and interact with biofilms in aquatic environments, facilitating the spread of pathogens. The potential use of leveraging jellyfish mucus to address marine pollution caused by plastics has been investigated. However, there is a lack of studies evaluating the environmental and human health risks associated with the after-use of jellyfish mucus-based materials. This study employed stress-induced jellyfish extract obtained from the immune response (JEI) of the moon jellyfish (Aurelia coerulea) to achieve the following: (1) assess the removal efficiency of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) and evaluate the release of residual PS-NPs into water; (2) evaluate the antibacterial activity against six harmful bacterial species; (3) examine the impact on harmful bacterial communities in aquatic environments; (4) conduct cytotoxicity tests. JEI effectively captured PS-NPs and reduced both biofilm accumulation and residual PS-NP release into water following application. Exposure to JEI at concentrations of 50 and 100 mg/mL yielded statistically significant reductions in PS-NPs, with average removal rates of 84.65% (1.71 ± 0.38 mg/L) and 89.60% (1.81 ± 0.03 mg/L), respectively. JEI showed antibacterial activity against Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus, with higher efficacy against Gram-positive than Gram-negative bacteria. Considering its potential to alter harmful bacterial communities in aquatic environments, JEI should be regulated and discharged at a concentration below 0.01 mg/mL. No significant cytotoxicity was observed at this concentration. Therefore, the findings of this study underscore the necessity of managing nanoplastics in aquatic environments and suggest that JEI is a promising biomaterial for mitigating the spread of nanoplastics and harmful bacteria.
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