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Differential effect of nano vs. micro-sized plastics on live Chlorella sp. algae in water environment
Summary
Researchers exposed live Chlorella sp. algae to polystyrene particles ranging from 20 nm to 2000 nm and used confocal microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging to characterize interactions. Nanoplastics of 20–500 nm formed corona-like structures around algae cells and reduced chlorophyll fluorescence intensity and lifetime, indicating impaired photosynthesis, while larger 1000–2000 nm particles had minimal effects.
Environmental pollution by micro and nanoplastics (MPs) is becoming an imminent danger for the environment in the 21st century. However, the effect of the MPs of different sizes is still poorly understood. In this contribution, we compare the effect of fluorescently labelled polystyrene (PS) MPs of sizes between 20 nm and 2000 nm. Spectrally-resolved confocal microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging was employed to study the interaction of PS MPs with algae Chlorella sp. We observed differential effect between the smaller and the bigger-sized beads. MPs sized 20–500 nm created “corona-like” structures around algae and induced lowering of the chlorophyll fluorescence, indicating an effect on the cell photosynthesis. In addition, the 20 nm MPs induced shortening of the chlorophyll fluorescence lifetimes, pointing to the effect on the chlorophyll molecular environment. However, MPs of bigger sizes, 1000–2000 nm, rather acted as a “nucleus” for clustering of a number of neighbouring algae without affecting the chlorophyll fluorescence. Understanding the interaction of living organisms with MPs of different sizes is crucial to assess the impact of this environmental pollution on live organisms in their natural environment.