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Aging process does not necessarily enhance the toxicity of polystyrene microplastics to Microcystis aeruginosa

The Science of The Total Environment 2023 27 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Di Wu, Di Wu, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Di Wu, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Di Wu, Di Wu, Di Wu, Lin Deng, Ting Wang, Wenchao Du, Di Wu, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Di Wu, Hongyan Guo Ting Wang, Ting Wang, Di Wu, Lin Deng, Di Wu, Di Wu, Di Wu, Di Wu, Di Wu, Wenchao Du, Wenchao Du, Wenchao Du, Ying Yin, Ying Yin, Di Wu, Wenchao Du, Ying Yin, Di Wu, Wenchao Du, Ying Yin, Di Wu, Ying Yin, Di Wu, Di Wu, Ying Yin, Ying Yin, Hongyan Guo Hongyan Guo Di Wu, Di Wu, Ying Yin, Ying Yin, Di Wu, Hongyan Guo Wenchao Du, Hongyan Guo Hongyan Guo Di Wu, Hongyan Guo Hongyan Guo

Summary

Researchers compared the properties and toxicity of pristine versus aged polystyrene microplastics of different sizes on the freshwater cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa. The study found that the aging process does not necessarily increase microplastic toxicity, as aging induced changes in surface properties, functional groups, and zeta potential that could either enhance or reduce toxic effects depending on particle size.

Polymers

Study Type Environmental

Microplastic (MP) pollution in aquatic systems has attracted increasing attention in recent years. MPs will inevitably encounter aging process in the environment. However, research on the effects of aged MPs on freshwater ecosystems remains limited. This study compared the properties of pristine and aged polystyrene (PS) MPs of different sizes (20 nm, 200 nm, 2000 nm) and determined the effects of aging on the toxicity of PS MPs to typical freshwater cyanobacteria, Microcystis aeruginosa. Aging process induced significant changes to the properties of the MPs, especially their microstructures and surface functional groups. Aging process also influenced zeta potential, which could further affect stability and toxicity of PS MPs. After 96 h exposure, increase of algal growth and photosynthetic activity was observed in the treatment of pristine 200 nm, aged 20 nm and aged 200 nm PS MPs. In addition, pristine 20 nm, pristine 200 nm, pristine 2000 nm, aged 20 nm and aged 200 nm PS MPs were adsorbed on algal cell surface, which could influence the cell permeability. Pristine PS MPs promoted microcystin synthesis and release, which could do harm to drinking water safety and freshwater ecosystems. However, there was no significant increase in aged PS MPs treatments. Furthermore, the increased C content of algal cells in all pristine PS MPs treatments indicated that M. aeruginosa assimilated more CO and generate more energy to resist the stress of pristine PS MPs when compared with aged PS MPs. These results indicate that aging process did not necessarily enhance the toxicity and biological risk of PS MPs to freshwater ecosystems. Findings of this study fill the knowledge gap in understanding the effects and risks of aged MPs on freshwater ecosystems.

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