0
Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Human Health Effects Nanoplastics Sign in to save

Do polystyrene nanoplastics affect the toxicity of cadmium to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)?

Environmental Pollution 2020 266 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Jiani Wu, Jiapan Lian, Aurang Zeb, Jiapan Lian, Aurang Zeb, Jiani Wu, Jiapan Lian, Jiapan Lian, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Jiapan Lian, Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Jingchun Tang, Jiapan Lian, Jingchun Tang, Weitao Liu Jingchun Tang, Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Aurang Zeb, Jiani Wu, Weitao Liu Jiani Wu, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Jiani Wu, Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Jiani Wu, Weitao Liu Jiani Wu, Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Weitao Liu Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Weitao Liu Aurang Zeb, Jingchun Tang, Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Aurang Zeb, Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Weitao Liu Jingchun Tang, Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Jingchun Tang, Aurang Zeb, Jingchun Tang, Aurang Zeb, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Jingchun Tang, Aurang Zeb, Jiapan Lian, Jiani Wu, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Shunan Zheng, Aurang Zeb, Jiapan Lian, Jiani Wu, Jiani Wu, Shunan Zheng, Jiapan Lian, Jiani Wu, Weitao Liu Jingchun Tang, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Jiani Wu, Ting Ma, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Jiapan Lian, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jiani Wu, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jiapan Lian, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jiapan Lian, Weitao Liu Feihu Peng, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Aurang Zeb, Weitao Liu Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jiapan Lian, Feihu Peng, Jiapan Lian, Aurang Zeb, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Weitao Liu Aurang Zeb, Jiapan Lian, Shunan Zheng, Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Shunan Zheng, Jingchun Tang, Jiapan Lian, Weitao Liu Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Jingchun Tang, Weitao Liu Weitao Liu Jingchun Tang, Weitao Liu

Summary

Researchers investigated whether polystyrene nanoplastics affect the toxicity of cadmium to wheat plants. The study found that nanoplastics could alter how cadmium interacts with wheat, potentially modifying the uptake and toxic effects of the heavy metal, suggesting that the co-occurrence of nanoplastics and heavy metals in agricultural soils may create complex interactions affecting crop health.

Polymers

There has been an increase on the research of microplastics (<5 mm in diameter) as carriers for toxic chemicals to evaluate their risks for human health and environment, but only few works focused on nanoplastics (1 nm-1000 nm in diameter) interacting with pre-existing contaminants such as heavy metals. It is still unclear whether polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) could affect the toxicity of cadmium to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Here, we assessed the impact of polystyrene nanoplastics (0, 10 mg/L) on the Cd (0, 20 μM) toxicity to wheat grown in 25% Hoagland solution for three weeks. We found that the presence of PSNPs could partially reduce Cd contents in leaves and alleviate Cd toxicity to wheat, which might be due to weakened adsorption capacity of PSNPs affected by ionic strength. In addition, PSNPs have little effect on catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) activities, except for decreasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, which suggested that antioxidant defense systems might not be the main mechanism to reduce the oxidative damage induced by Cd in wheat. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis showed that PSNPs could accelerate the formation of long-lived radicals in leaves after exposure to Cd. Notably, our metabolomics profiling further indicated that the simultaneously elevated carbohydrate and amino acid metabolisms induced by PSNPs could partly alleviate Cd toxicity to wheat. Nevertheless, the present study provides important implications for the toxicological interaction and future risk assessment of co-contamination of nanoplastics and heavy metals in the environment.

Sign in to start a discussion.

Share this paper