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Tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate enhances the adverse effects of biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics on the mussel Mytilus coruscus
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Researchers studied how a flame retardant chemical (TCPP) interacts with biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics in mussels. The combination of the flame retardant and PLA microplastics caused more oxidative stress, immune disruption, and metabolic changes than either pollutant alone. This finding is important because biodegradable plastics are often assumed to be safer, but they can still carry harmful chemical additives that increase their toxicity to marine life and, by extension, to people who eat seafood.
Microplastics (MPs) and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) have recently become ubiquitous and cumulative pollutants in the oceans. Since OPFRs are added to or adsorbed onto MPs as additives, it is necessary to study the composite contamination of OPFRs and MPs, with less focus on bio-based PLA. Therefore, this study focused on the ecotoxicity of the biodegradable MP polylactic acid (PLA) (5 μm, irregular fragments, 10 and 10 particles/L), and a representative OPFRs tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP, 0.5 and 50 μg/L) at environmental and high concentrations. The mussel Mytilus coruscus was used as a standardised bioindicator for exposure experiments. The focus was on examining oxidative stress (catalase, CAT, superoxide dismutase, SOD, malondialdehyde, MDA), immune responses acid (phosphatase, ACP, alkaline phosphatase, AKP, lysozyme, LZM), neurotoxicity (acetylcholinesterase, AChE), energy metabolism (lactate dehydrogenase, LDH, succinate dehydrogenase, SDH, hexokinase, HK), and physiological indices (absorption efficiency, AE, excretion rate, ER, respiration rate, RR, condition index, CI) after 14 days exposure. The results of significantly increased oxidative stress and immune responses, and significantly disturbed energy metabolism and physiological activities, together with an integrated biomarker response (IBR) analysis, indicate that bio-based PLA MPs and TCPP could cause adverse effects on mussels. Meanwhile, TCPP interacted significantly with PLA, especially at environmental concentrations, resulting in more severe negative impacts on oxidative and immune stress, and neurotoxicity. The more severe adverse effects at environmental concentrations indicate higher ecological risks of PLA, TCPP and their combination in the real marine environment. Our study presents reliable data on the complex effects of bio-based MP PLA, TCPP and their combination on marine organisms and the environment.
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Researchers studied how the biodegradable plastic PLA, once aged in simulated marine conditions, affects mussels compared to fresh PLA. They found that aged PLA microplastics adsorbed more of the flame retardant chemical TCPP and caused greater toxic effects in mussels, including oxidative stress and immune responses. The study suggests that so-called biodegradable plastics may actually become more harmful as they weather in the ocean rather than safely breaking down.
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Researchers exposed thick-shelled mussels to polyamide microplastics combined with the flame retardant TCPP at environmentally relevant concentrations. They found that the combined stress caused physiological toxicity through an adsorption effect rather than a simple carrier effect, with potentially irreversible damage to digestive glands. The study also showed that the internal bacterial diversity of exposed mussels was altered, indicating broader ecological consequences of microplastic-chemical co-exposure in marine environments.
Aging Enhancesthe Ecotoxicological Effects of BiobasedMicroplastic Poly(LacticAcid) and Its Adsorbed Tris(1-chloro-2-propyl)phosphate on Mussels
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This study aged PLA bioplastic microplastics under simulated marine conditions and combined them with the plastic additive TCPP before exposing mussels, finding that aged PLA microplastics caused greater toxicity than virgin particles and that TCPP co-exposure compounded oxidative and inflammatory effects.
The combined effects of aging polylactic acid microplastics and TCPP on the byssus genes of the mussel Mytilus coruscus
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Researchers exposed mussels to polylactic acid microplastics, both new and aged, combined with a flame retardant chemical for 14 days and measured effects on byssus thread gene expression. They found that aged biodegradable microplastics and the flame retardant each suppressed genes related to the adhesive byssal plaque, and their combined effects worsened with increasing concentration. The study emphasizes that even biodegradable plastics become more ecotoxic as they age in marine environments.
Combined ecotoxicity of polystyrene microplastics and Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate increase exposure risks to Mytilus coruscus based on the bioaccumulation, oxidative stress, metabolic profiles, and nutritional interferences
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Researchers exposed hard-shelled mussels to a common plastic additive (DEHP) and polystyrene microplastics together, and found that the microplastics increased how much DEHP accumulated in the animals' digestive organs. The combined exposure disrupted the mussels' antioxidant defenses and altered their metabolic processes more than either pollutant alone. The study suggests that microplastics can amplify the harmful effects of chemical pollutants in marine organisms.
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