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Charge-specific impacts of polystyrene nanoplastics on acidogenesis and biofilm adaptation in Ethanoligenens harbinense
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Positively and negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics had different effects on acidobacteria (a major group of soil bacteria), with charge-specific impacts on community composition and activity. The findings indicate that the surface chemistry of nanoplastics, not just their size, determines ecological impact.
Despite increasing awareness of the risks posed by nanoplastics (NPs) to environmental microbes, the charge-specific effects of functionalized NPs on anaerobic acidogenic bacteria remain poorly understood. This study investigated the impact of functionalized polystyrene (PS) NPs on Ethanoligenens harbinense, a model hydrogen-producing anaerobe. The growth, metabolic, and transcriptomic responses of this bacterium to non-functionalized (PS-NPs), amino-modified (PS-NH), and carboxyl-modified (PS-COOH) variants were examined. Compared with the control group without NPs addition, PS-NH exerted the strongest inhibition, reducing hydrogen and ethanol production by 16 % and 20 %, respectively, while elevating reactive oxygen species (ROS) level by 148 %. It also decreased biomass and down-regulated the expression of ribosome- and translation-related genes. In parallel, biofilm adaptation resulted in an 12 % increase in polysaccharide. PS-COOH enhanced biofilm reinforcement with a 21 % increase in polysaccharides and up-regulation of bapA and membrane transporter-related genes. Overall, PS-NH induced broad transcriptional changes, particularly in pathways related to the phosphotransferase system (PTS), ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, genetic information processing, and signaling/regulatory systems in E. harbinense. These findings provide new insights into how surface charge modifications of NPs affect anaerobic bacterial metabolism and underscore their potential environmental risks.
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Effect of Differentially Charged Polystyrene Nanoplastics on the Performance of Biological Denitrification in Wastewater Treatment
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This Chinese-language study investigated how positively and negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics differentially affect the performance of activated sludge in wastewater treatment, finding that surface charge was a key determinant of biological treatment disruption. Positively charged nanoplastics were more toxic to the microbial community.
Interfacial Interactions between Escherichia coli and Polystyrene Nanoplastics: a Physicochemical Perspective
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When nanoplastic particles encounter bacteria in the environment, the nature of that interaction affects how plastics move through ecosystems and whether they carry pathogens. This study examined how polystyrene nanoparticles (both plain and amine-modified) interact with E. coli at a physicochemical level, finding that attachment depended strongly on particle surface charge, pH, and concentration. The amine-modified particles bound more readily to bacterial surfaces and altered bacterial membranes, suggesting that surface chemistry—which changes as plastics weather in the environment—substantially influences the ecological behavior of nanoplastics and their potential to ferry microorganisms to new locations.
Distinct lipid membrane interaction and uptake of differentially charged nanoplastics in bacteria
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Researchers studied how nanoplastics with different surface charges interact with bacterial cell membranes, finding that positively charged particles penetrate bacteria far more effectively than neutral or negatively charged ones. The positively charged nanoplastics caused more cellular stress by generating reactive oxygen species and damaged cell structures differently depending on the bacterial type. These findings are important for understanding how nanoplastics may affect both environmental bacteria and the human microbiome.
Nanoplastics alter ecosystem multifunctionality and may increase global warming potential
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Researchers evaluated how positively and negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics affect soil ecosystem functions, including nitrogen removal, greenhouse gas emissions, and microbial communities, with and without earthworms. The study found that nanoplastics significantly altered soil microbial community structure and ecosystem multifunctionality, with positively charged particles having more pronounced effects, and evidence indicating that nanoplastics may increase global warming potential through altered greenhouse gas emissions.
Charge-dependent effects of nanoplastics on Helicobacter pylori virulence and gastric pathogenesis
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Researchers infected mice with Helicobacter pylori and co-exposed them to positively charged, negatively charged, or neutral polystyrene nanoplastics, then assessed gastric pathogenesis. Positively charged nanoplastics most strongly enhanced H. pylori virulence, gastric inflammation, and ulceration, identifying surface charge as a key determinant of how nanoplastics interact with gut pathogens.
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