We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Heteroaggregates of Polystyrene Nanospheres and Organic Matter: Preparation, Characterization and Evaluation of Their Toxicity to Algae in Environmentally Relevant Conditions
AI summary Read the abstract
Polystyrene nanospheres combined with natural organic matter to form heteroaggregates were found to be more toxic to algae under realistic environmental conditions than pristine nanoplastics, highlighting how environmental transformation of nanoplastics can alter their ecological risk.
The environmental fate and behavior of nanoplastics (NPs) and their toxicity against aquatic organisms are under current investigation. In this work, relevant physicochemical characterizations were provided to analyze the ecotoxicological risk of NPs in the aquatic compartment. For this purpose, heteroaggregates of 50 nm polystyrene nanospheres and natural organic matter were prepared and characterized. The kinetic of aggregation was assimilated to a reaction-limited colloid aggregation mode and led to the formation of heteroaggregates in the range of 100-500 nm. Toxicities of these heteroaggregates and polystyrene nanospheres (50 and 350 nm) were assessed for a large range of concentrations using four benthic and one planktonic algal species, in regards to particle states in the media. Heteroaggregates and nanospheres were shown to be stable in the exposure media during the ecotoxity tests. The algal species exhibited very low sensitivity (growth and photosynthetic activity), with the noteworthy exception of the planktonic alga, whose growth increased by more than 150% with the heteroaggregates at 1 µg L-1. Despite the lack of a strong direct effect of the NPs, they may still impair the functioning of aquatic ecosystems by destabilizing the competitive interactions between species. Moreover, further work should assess the toxicity of NPs associated with other substances (adsorbed pollutants or additives) that could enhance the NP effects.
More Papers Like This
Hetero-Aggregation of Nanoplastics with Freshwater Algae and the Toxicological Consequences: The Role of Extracellular Polymeric Substances
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers studied how polystyrene and polylactic acid nanoplastics hetero-aggregate with the alga Chlorella vulgaris, finding that extracellular polymeric substances released by algae strongly influenced aggregation behavior and that aggregation altered the toxicity of nanoplastics.
Mechanistic understanding of the aggregation kinetics of nanoplastics in marine environments: Comparing synthetic and natural water matrices
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated aggregation kinetics of polystyrene nanoplastics in marine environments, finding that organic matter type and salt concentration strongly influenced particle stability, with nanoplastics in natural seawater aggregating differently than in synthetic matrices.
Ecotoxicity of Heteroaggregates of Polystyrene Nanospheres in Chironomidae and Amphibian
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers examined the ecotoxicity of carboxylated polystyrene nanospheres (350 nm and 50 nm) and their heteroaggregates on freshwater Chironomidae larvae and amphibians, using exposure experiments to assess toxicity mechanisms in organisms with direct environmental contact with plastic-polluted freshwater. They found that heteroaggregation altered the bioavailability and toxicity profiles of the nanoplastics compared to pristine particles, with effects including developmental disruption and behavioral changes in exposed organisms.
Transformations, interactions, and acute biological responses of nanoplastics on mixotrophic microalgae Poterioochromonas malhamensis
AI summary Read the abstract
Nanoplastics affected the mixotrophic microalgae Poterioochromonas malhamensis in ways that depended on particle concentration, size, and the surrounding water chemistry. Notably, particle aggregation behavior was the most important factor determining how harmful nanoplastics were to these algae.
Combined effects of photoaging and natural organic matter on the colloidal stability of nanoplastics in aquatic environments
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers found that photoaging of polystyrene nanoplastics alters how natural organic matter interacts with their surfaces — reducing humic acid adsorption while increasing protein adsorption — with downstream effects on the nanoplastics' stability and transport in aquatic environments.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.