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Effect of Biofouling on the Sorption of Organic Contaminants by Microplastics
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Researchers studied how biofilm formation on microplastics affects their ability to absorb organic contaminants in aquatic environments. They found that as biofilms grew over 5 to 15 days on plastic surfaces, the sorption of hydrophilic compounds like methylene blue increased, while hydrophobic compound sorption was less affected. The study suggests that biofouling changes the surface chemistry of microplastics in ways that may alter how they transport different pollutants through water systems.
Microplastics in the aquatic environment are susceptible to colonization by surrounding microorganisms, which form biofilms over the microplastic's surface. These biofilm-laden microplastics can then interact with a diverse array of contaminants. In the present study, biofilms were grown on microplastics in a laboratory setting using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model biofilm-forming bacterium for periods of 5 to 15 days. The sorption of three organic compounds representing different levels of hydrophobicity, namely methylene blue (MB), phenanthrol, and phenanthrene, was used to evaluate the effect of biofilm biomass on the adsorption of organic contaminants to microplastics. The sorption of MB and phenanthrol was found to increase with biofouling time, indicating affinity between these contaminants and the biofilm biomass on the particle. However, the presence of a biofilm did not influence the sorption of phenanthrene on the microplastics. These results suggest that the hydrophobicity of organic contaminants plays a major role in how biofouling of microplastics will influence contaminant sorption by microplastics. For some contaminants, biofilm can enhance the role of microplastics as contaminant vectors. These findings emphasize the need to understand the biomass load on environmental microplastics and the contaminants that associate with it for an accurate representation of the risk associated with microplastics in the environment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1973-1981. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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