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Nanoplastic-Induced Biological Effects In Vivo and In Vitro: An Overview
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Researchers reviewed how nanoplastics accumulate in and harm living organisms, finding that particle size, surface charge, exposure dose, and duration all influence toxicity — with smaller, charged particles penetrating cells more readily and chemical additives amplifying harm beyond the plastics themselves.
Nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging pollutants with great concern due to their small size and potential adverse effects on living organisms. This review summarizes the biological effects of NPs in vivo (plants and animals) and in vitro (cells). NPs can be ingested and accumulated in organisms and transferred along the food chain, affecting the growth, development, and reproduction at each trophic level. Several factors including surface charges, size, exposure dose, and exposure time affect the biological effects of NPs. Surface-charged NPs have a more significant impact on the normal physiological activities of cells, while smaller particles facilitate the penetration across the cell membranes. Higher doses and longer exposure time contribute to the higher accumulation. In addition, additives and environmental pollutants attached to NPs pose a greater threat to organisms than NPs themselves. There are still several analytical challenges in the study of the biological effects of NPs, especially their accumulation, degradation, migration and interactions with the biological systems. Further works on the risk assessment of NPs derived from commonly used plastics in our daily life like polyethylene terephthalate (PET) rather than laboratory-made polystyrene (PS) beads are still highly desired.
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Cellular and Animal Toxicities of Micro- and Nanoplastics
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Researchers reviewed evidence from cell and animal studies on the toxic effects of micro- and nanoplastics, finding that these particles can cause inflammation, oxidative stress, and organ damage in laboratory models, raising concern about what chronic low-level human exposure might mean for long-term health.
Microplastics and nanoplastics in human health: a comprehensive review of exposure pathways, cellular mechanisms, and toxicological implications
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Researchers reviewed human exposure pathways to microplastics and nanoplastics through seafood, salt, drinking water, inhalation, and skin contact, examining how these particles cross biological barriers to reach organs and trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption with poorly understood long-term consequences.
Nanoplastic occurrence, transformation and toxicity: a review
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Researchers reviewed the environmental fate and biological toxicity of nanoplastics, finding that these sub-micron particles weather, aggregate, and accumulate contaminants in aquatic environments, and that ingestion by microbes, algae, invertebrates, and fish disrupts growth, reproduction, and behavior.
The Potential Human Impacts of Environmental Contamination by Microplastics and Nanoplastics: A Review
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Researchers reviewed human health consequences of environmental micro- and nanoplastic contamination, noting that while detection in human tissues is growing, the extent of biological harm remains poorly characterized and requires more systematic study of exposure routes and dose-response relationships.
The effects of nanoplastics on toxicity of metals and metal nanoparticles: molecular mechanisms and health effects
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Researchers reviewed how co-exposure to nanoplastics and heavy metals produces synergistic toxicity across multiple species and cell models, finding that nanoplastics enhance metal bioavailability and amplify oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptosis, and gut dysbiosis more severely than equivalent microplastic co-exposures.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.