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Soil Metabolome Impacts the Formation of the Eco-corona and Adsorption Processes on Microplastic Surfaces
Summary
This study found that natural molecules in soil form a coating (called an eco-corona) on microplastic surfaces, which changes how chemicals stick to them. The type and amount of coating depends on the soil's chemical makeup, meaning microplastics behave differently in different soils. This matters because it affects what pollutants microplastics can carry into the food chain and water supply.
The eco-corona on microplastics refers to the initial layer of biomolecular compounds adsorbed onto the surface after environmental exposure. The formation and composition of the eco-corona in soils have attracted relatively little attention; however, the eco-corona has important implications for the fate and impacts of microplastics and co-occurring chemical contaminants. Here, it was demonstrated that the formation of the eco-corona on polyethylene microplastics exposed to water-extractable soil metabolites (WESMs) occurs quite rapidly via two pathways: direct adsorption of metabolites on microplastics and bridging interactions mediated by macromolecules. The main eco-corona components were common across all soils and microplastics tested and were identified as lipids and lipid-like molecules, phenylpropanoids and polyketides, nucleosides, nucleotides, and their analogues. WESMs were found to reduce the adsorption of co-occurring organic contaminants to microplastics by two pathways: reduced adsorption to the eco-corona surface and co-solubilization in the surrounding water. These impacts from the eco-corona and the soil metabolome should be considered within fate and risk assessments of microplastics and co-occurring contaminants.