We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Adsorption abilities and mechanisms of Lactobacillus on various nanoplastics
Summary
Researchers tested whether Lactobacillus, a common probiotic bacterium, could adsorb nanoplastic particles made of polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polystyrene. They found that the bacteria could efficiently bind all three types of nanoplastics through electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding on their cell surfaces. The study suggests that lactic acid bacteria may have potential as a biological method for reducing nanoplastic contamination in food.
As a new type of pollutants, nanoplastics (NPs), which are easily ingested by humans from food wraps, salt, drinking water, have been widely detected in various water environments, and are a threat to human health. It is therefore urgent to develop an efficient method to remove NPs from the diet or relief its harm. In the present study, the possibility of a well-known human probiotic, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), was evaluated to remove NPs from food as an absorbent. The results indicated that LAB from infant feces could efficiently absorb three types NPs, i.e. polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with the adsorption rates of PP > PE > PVC (PP 78.57%, PE 71.59%, PVC 66.57%) and the Nile red-stained NPs being aggregated on the surfaces of Lactobacillus cells. The smaller the particle size, the stronger the ability of NP adsorption on the cell surface. The hydrophobicity of NPs and bacterial cells affected the adsorption process. The measurement of adsorption rates of different cell components indicated that the overall adsorption effect of cell was better than that of individual cell component. The results of molecular dynamics analysis revealed that adsorption was mainly caused by electrostatic interactions, van der Waals forces, and hydrogen bonds. The hydrophobic interaction was also involved in adsorption process. Overall, this research may provide new information for developing new strategies for NPs removal in intestinal environment.