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Differentially charged nanoplastics demonstrate distinct accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana
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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.
Although the fates of microplastics (0.1-5 mm in size) and nanoplastics (<100 nm) in marine environments are being increasingly well studied, little is known about the behaviour of nanoplastics in terrestrial environments, especially agricultural soils. Previous studies have evaluated the consequences of nanoplastic accumulation in aquatic plants, but there is no direct evidence for the internalization of nanoplastics in terrestrial plants. Here, we show that both positively and negatively charged nanoplastics can accumulate in Arabidopsis thaliana. The aggregation promoted by the growth medium and root exudates limited the uptake of amino-modified polystyrene nanoplastics with positive surface charges. Thus, positively charged nanoplastics accumulated at relatively low levels in the root tips, but these nanoplastics induced a higher accumulation of reactive oxygen species and inhibited plant growth and seedling development more strongly than negatively charged sulfonic-acid-modified nanoplastics. By contrast, the negatively charged nanoplastics were observed frequently in the apoplast and xylem. Our findings provide direct evidence that nanoplastics can accumulate in plants, depending on their surface charge. Plant accumulation of nanoplastics can have both direct ecological effects and implications for agricultural sustainability and food safety.
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Do differentially charged nanoplastics affect imidacloprid uptake, translocation, and metabolism in Chinese flowering cabbage?
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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.
Charge-selective polystyrene nanoplastic retention by plant cell walls: Pectin domains dictate differential accumulation in rice seedling roots and shoots
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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.
Accumulation modes and effects of differentially charged polystyrene nano/microplastics in water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica F.)
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Researchers investigated how water spinach plants absorb nano and microplastics of different sizes and electrical charges. They found that smaller, positively charged particles were absorbed more readily by roots and could travel to the leaves, while larger particles tended to stay on root surfaces. This matters because leafy vegetables like water spinach could be delivering nanoplastics directly to people who eat them.
Foliar uptake and leaf-to-root translocation of nanoplastics with different coating charge in maize plants
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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.
Impacts of foliar-applied polystyrene nanoplastics with different surface charges on tetracycline accumulation, phytotoxicity, and the endophytic microbiota in Chrysanthemum coronarium L.
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Researchers applied polystyrene nanoplastics of different surface charges to chrysanthemum leaves and found that positively charged particles most strongly reduced antibiotic (tetracycline) uptake, suppressed iron absorption and chlorophyll production, and increased oxidative damage — while also reshaping the plant's internal microbiome — demonstrating that atmospheric nanoplastic deposition can alter both contaminant bioavailability and plant health.
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