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Confocal Surface-Enhanced Raman Imaging of the Intestinal Barrier Crossing Behavior of Model Nanoplastics in Daphnia Magna
Summary
Using advanced Raman imaging, researchers directly observed nanoplastic particles crossing the intestinal wall of water fleas (Daphnia magna) for the first time. They identified two specific cellular mechanisms — clathrin-dependent endocytosis and macropinocytosis — that cells use to absorb the tiny plastic particles. This study provides concrete evidence of how nanoplastics can pass through the gut barrier into the body, a process relevant to understanding human exposure through food and water.
Nanoplastics (nP) pose hazards to aquatic animals once they are ingested. Significant knowledge gaps exist regarding the nP translocation across the animal intestine, which is the first barrier between the ingested nP and the animal body. We examined the intestinal barrier crossing behavior of nP in an aquatic animal model (Daphnia magna) and determined the translocation mechanism with the help of model "core-shell" polystyrene nanoplastics (nPS) and confocal surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The Raman reporter (4-mercaptobenzoic acid)-tagged gold "core" of the model nPS enables sensitive and reliable particle imaging by confocal SERS. This method detected SERS signals of model nPS concentration as low as 4.1 × 109 particles/L (equivalent to 0.27 μg/L PS "shell" concentration). The translocation was observed with the help of multilayer stacked Raman maps of SERS signals of the model nPS. With a higher concentration or longer exposure time of the model nPS, uptake and translocation of the plastic particles increased. In addition, we demonstrated that clathrin-dependent endocytosis and macropinocytosis were two major mechanisms underlying the translocation. This study contributes to a mechanistic understanding of nP translocation by using the pioneering model nPS and an analytical toolkit, which undergird further investigations into nP behavior and health effects in aquatic species.