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Quantification of Nanoplastic Uptake in Cucumber Plants by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
Summary
Researchers developed a new analytical method to measure how much nanoplastic cucumber plants absorb from their growing environment. Using this technique, they detected up to nearly 7,000 micrograms per gram of nanoplastics in dried plant tissues after just two weeks of exposure, confirming that the tiny particles can be taken up, transported, and accumulated throughout the plant. The findings raise concerns about nanoplastics potentially entering the human food chain through contaminated produce.
Nanoplastic uptake in plants has drawn increasing attention for its potential toxicity to organisms at higher trophic levels. However, the mechanisms remain ambiguous due to the lack of quantitative methods for nanoplastic uptake in plants. Herein, a novel procedure incorporating alkaline digestion, cellulose precipitation, and ultrasonic leaching, followed by pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) analysis, was developed to quantify nanoplastic uptake in plants with cucumber (Cucumis sativus) as the model species. Recoveries of 81.6%–97.2% were obtained for polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanoplastics at spiking levels of 34.5–61.5 μg/g in quality control samples. Detection limits of 2.31–4.15 μg/g for PS and 3.87–8.20 μg/g for PMMA nanoplastics were achieved. After exposure to 50 mg/L of 100 nm PS nanoplastics for 7 and 14 days, 0–6893 μg/g nanoplastics were detected in various dried cucumber tissues using the developed method with their presence identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), suggesting nanoplastic uptake, translocation, and accumulation in plants. Comparative experiments with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) using palladium-labeled nanoplastics further confirmed the promising application of our method in quantifying nanoplastic uptake in plants. Consequently, the proposed method provides new possibilities for screening nanoplastics in plants.