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The toxic differentiation of micro- and nanoplastics verified by gene-edited fluorescent Caenorhabditis elegans
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Researchers used gene-edited fluorescent C. elegans to demonstrate that nanoplastic toxicity is size- and charge-dependent, with 100 nm positively charged polystyrene particles causing the greatest harm through intestinal accumulation and oxidative stress.
The increased emission and accumulation of micro- or nanoplastics (M-NPs) have posed a severely threaten to organisms in the environment. Though the toxicity of M-NPs has been observed in many species, the fundamental factors determining the biotoxicity are rarely expounded on. In this work, typical polystyrene (PS) M-NPs were set up with a multiparameter variation in size gradient, surface charge contrast and concentration variant, and evaluated by the Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) model. From the endpoints of body length, brood size, survival rate and lifespan, an adverse effect was found on the growth and development of C. elegans caused by PSs. In general, the toxicity of PS was found to be concentrated- and size-dependent, with 100 nm positively charged nano-PS having the highest physio-toxicity. Monitoring by fluorescent imaging, it showed that positively charged nano-PS was mainly ingested and accumulated in the intestinal tract of C. elegans. In addition, the penetrated PS induced severe biological stress reactions with the increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipofuscin. Furthermore, the following expression of antioxidation-related enzymes was activated in vivo as indicated by the GFP-labelled C. elegans. All the results supplied visually toxic parameters of M-NPs to organisms, which sheds light on the biosecurity and ecological risks of M-NPs in the future.
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Polystyrene (nano)microplastics cause size-dependent neurotoxicity, oxidative damage and other adverse effects inCaenorhabditis elegans
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Researchers found that polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics cause neurotoxicity and oxidative damage in the model organism C. elegans, with effects varying by particle size. Smaller nanoscale particles tended to cause more severe toxic responses than larger microplastic particles. The study highlights that the size of plastic particles is an important factor in determining how harmful they are to living organisms.
Different Toxic Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics and Nanoplastics on Caenorhabditis elegans
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Researchers compared the toxicity of 2-μm polystyrene microplastics and 0.1-μm nanoplastics in C. elegans, finding both impaired growth, locomotion, reproduction, and lifespan at 1 mg/L and above, with microplastics causing greater locomotion and reproductive toxicity and nanoplastics inducing stronger oxidative stress.
Neuronal damage induced by nanopolystyrene particles in nematodeCaenorhabditis elegans
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C. elegans nematodes were chronically exposed to nanopolystyrene particles and found to develop neuronal damage affecting both development and function of the nervous system after long-term exposure at environmentally relevant concentrations. The study provides early evidence that nanoplastics can cause neurological harm in an animal model, raising questions about potential neurotoxicity in other species.
Neurodevelopmental Toxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics inCaenorhabditis elegansand the Regulating Effect of Presenilin
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C. elegans exposed to 25, 50, and 100 nm polystyrene nanoplastics showed size-dependent neurodevelopmental toxicity — including reactive oxygen species generation, mitochondrial damage, and inhibited dopamine production — with smaller particles (25 nm) paradoxically showing weaker effects than the 50 nm size.
Using acs-22 mutant Caenorhabditis elegans to detect the toxicity of nanopolystyrene particles
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Researchers used C. elegans worms with a defective intestinal barrier to show that nanoplastics at environmentally predicted concentrations (1 µg/L) can translocate to internal organs and activate oxidative stress pathways when the gut barrier is compromised — suggesting susceptibility may increase under certain disease conditions.
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