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Airborne PET nanoplastics alter tobacco’s chemical risk

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2025
Miao-Miao Tan, Xiaodong Sun, Yue Wang, Jian-Lu Duan, Jing-Ya Ma, Xiaoyu Liu, Meiyan Liu, Yu-Chen Sun, Rong Xing, Shuguang Wang, Wei Chen, Xian-Zheng Yuan

Summary

This brief study reported that airborne polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanoplastics enter tobacco plant leaves, accumulate in plant tissues, and alter the plant's nicotine biosynthesis—favoring the more potent (S)-nicotine isomer. The findings suggest that atmospheric nanoplastic contamination can modify the chemical profile of combustible consumer products, potentially increasing their pharmacological potency.

Polymers
PE PET

Atmospheric micro(nano)plastics (MNPs), including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), enter plants via leaves, accumulating in tissues. Foliar PET nanoplastic exposure alters Nicotiana benthamiana nicotine biosynthesis, favoring the more potent (S)-isomer even without growth inhibition. This accumulation reveals a contamination pathway for combustible consumer products, demonstrating that MNPs-induced alteration of a plant's endogenous biochemistry represents a significant and previously uncharacterized risk to agricultural sustainability and human health.

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