We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Do differentially charged nanoplastics affect imidacloprid uptake, translocation, and metabolism in Chinese flowering cabbage?
Summary
Researchers found that positively charged nanoplastics inhibited plant growth and reduced imidacloprid translocation in Chinese flowering cabbage, while negatively charged nanoplastics accelerated pesticide accumulation in shoots, revealing charge-dependent interactions affecting food safety.
Micro(nano)plastics are ubiquitous in the environment. Among the microplastics, imidacloprid (IMI) concentration has been increasing in some intensive agricultural regions, thus receiving increased attention. However, only a few studies have investigated the interaction of nanoplastics (polystyrene (PS)) and IMI in vegetable crops. We studied the effects of positively (PS-NH) and negatively (PS-COOH) charged nanoplastics on the uptake, translocation, and degradation of IMI in Chinese flowering cabbage grown in Hoagland solution for 28 days. PS-NH co-exposure with IMI inhibited plant growth, resulting in decreased plant weight, height, and root length. Translocation of IMI from the roots to the shoots was significantly lower in the presence of PS-NH, whereas PS-COOH accelerated the accumulation and translocation of IMI in plants, thus potentially affecting IMI metabolism in plants. Notably, IMI-NTG and 5-OH-IMI were the two dominant metabolites. PS-NH co-exposure with IMI induced significant oxidation stress and considerably affected the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD), indicating that the antioxidant defense system was the main mechanism for reducing oxidative damage. Notably, both positively and negatively charged nanoplastics can accumulate in Chinese flowering cabbage. Plants in the PS-COOH alone treatment group had the highest concentration of nanoplastics in both roots and shoots. The accumulation of nanoplastics, IMI, and its metabolites in plants raises concerns about their combined potential toxicity because it compromises food safety.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Differentially charged nanoplastics demonstrate distinct accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana
Researchers exposed Arabidopsis thaliana plants to positively and negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics and found that charge determined accumulation patterns, with positively charged particles penetrating deeper into root and leaf tissues than negatively charged ones.
Charge-selective polystyrene nanoplastic retention by plant cell walls: Pectin domains dictate differential accumulation in rice seedling roots and shoots
A study of rice seedling roots found that plant cell walls act as a charge-selective barrier to nanoplastics: negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-COOH) accumulated nearly 4.5 times more in shoots than positively charged ones (PS-NH₂), while positive nanoplastics were preferentially retained in root cell walls by binding to pectin. The results are directly relevant to food safety because they show that nanoplastic surface chemistry determines how much plastic penetrates into the edible parts of a major global food crop.
Foliar uptake and leaf-to-root translocation of nanoplastics with different coating charge in maize plants
Researchers showed that nanoplastics can enter maize plants not just through roots but also through leaves, and then travel down to the roots through the plant's internal transport system. Positively charged nanoplastics stuck to leaf surfaces more readily but also caused more damage to photosynthesis and triggered stronger stress responses in the plants. This finding is important because it reveals an additional pathway for nanoplastic contamination of food crops through airborne particles landing on leaves.
Positively Charged Microplastics Induce Strong Lettuce Stress Responses from Physiological, Transcriptomic, and Metabolomic Perspectives
Researchers exposed lettuce leaves to microplastics carrying different electrical charges and found that positively charged particles caused significantly stronger stress responses than negatively charged or neutral ones. The positively charged microplastics accumulated more in leaf tissue and triggered widespread changes in gene expression and metabolic pathways. The study suggests that the surface charge of microplastics is an important factor in determining their toxicity to plants.
Differentially Charged Nanoplastics Induce Distinct Effects on the Growth and Gut of Benthic Insects (Chironomus kiinensis) via Charge-Specific Accumulation and Perturbation of the Gut Microbiota
Researchers exposed aquatic insect larvae to positively and negatively charged nanoplastics and found that the surface charge significantly affected how toxic the particles were. Positively charged nanoplastics caused more severe gut damage, greater accumulation in tissues, and bigger disruptions to gut bacteria. This matters because nanoplastics in the real environment carry various charges, and the findings suggest that charge is an important factor in determining health risks.