Effects of unmodified and amine-functionalized polystyrene nanoplastics on nitrogen removal by Pseudomonas stutzeri: strain characteristics, extracellular polymers, and transcriptomics

Summary

Researchers investigated how two types of polystyrene nanoplastics — plain and amine-modified — affect the ability of bacteria to remove nitrogen from water, a process important for wastewater treatment. The amine-coated nanoplastics were found to be more disruptive than unmodified ones, altering the bacteria's cell surface, extracellular proteins, and gene expression. This matters because nanoplastics entering wastewater systems could undermine the biological processes that keep treated water safe to release into the environment.