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Influence of Functional Group Modification on the Toxicity of Nanoplastics
Summary
This review examines how different functional group modifications on the surface of nanoplastics influence their toxicity to microorganisms, plants, animals, and human cells. Researchers found that surface charge and specific functional groups significantly alter how nanoplastics interact with biological systems, with positively charged particles generally showing greater toxicity. The study underscores that the surface chemistry of nanoplastics is a critical factor in determining their environmental and health risks.
Nanoplastics (NPs) are ubiquitous in harvested organisms at various trophic levels, and more concerns on their diverse responses and wide species-dependent sensitivity are continuously increasing. However, systematic study on the toxic effects of NPs with different functional group modifications is still limited. In this review, we gathered and analyzed the toxic effects of NPs with different functional groups on microorganisms, plants, animals, and mammalian/human cells in vitro. The corresponding toxic mechanisms were also described. In general, most up-to-date relevant studies focus on amino (−NH 2 ) or carboxyl (−COOH)-modified polystyrene (PS) NPs, while research on other materials and functional groups is lacking. Positively charged PS-NH 2 NPs induced stronger toxicity than negatively charged PS-COOH. Plausible toxicity mechanisms mainly include membrane interaction and disruption, reactive oxygen species generation, and protein corona and eco-corona formations, and they were influenced by surface charges of NPs. The effects of NPs in the long-term exposure and in the real environment world also warrant further study.