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Unraveling the impact of phytoplankton secretions on the behavior of metal-containing engineered nanoparticles in aquatic environment
Summary
This review examines how tiny algae (phytoplankton) release natural substances that change the way metal nanoparticles behave in water, affecting whether they dissolve, clump together, or get absorbed by organisms. While focused on engineered nanoparticles rather than microplastics, the same biological processes apply to how plastic particles interact with living things in aquatic environments. Understanding these interactions is important for predicting how pollutants, including microplastics, move through water ecosystems and potentially into the food chain.
Based on the up-to-date knowledge we critically discuss the current understanding of the influence of the compounds secreted by phytoplankton species on the fate of metal-containing engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in aquatic settings. Different biomolecules, such as extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and exometabolites play important, yet to elucidate, role in the dissolution, colloidal stability, transformations and biouptake of the ENPs and thus shape their behavior within the phycosphere. Phytoplankton secretions can also mediate the synthesis of ENPs from dissolved ions by reducing the metals ions and capping the newly formed ENPs. However, the environmental significance of this process remains to be demonstrated. Exposure to ENPs triggers changes in the secretion of the biomolecules. An improved understanding of the regulatory mechanism and exometabolite changes due to ENP exposure is essential for deciphering the ENPs-phytoplankton interactions. Unveiling the significance of secreted biomolecules in modulating the behavior of the metal-containing ENPs is central for understudying the phytoplankton-ENPs feedbacks, drivers of transformations of ENPs and their mechanisms in the aquatic environment.
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