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Polystyrene nanoplastics alter the cytotoxicity of human pharmaceuticals on marine fish cell lines
Summary
Researchers exposed marine fish cell lines to polystyrene nanoplastics and found that while the nanoplastics alone were not directly toxic, they significantly altered the cytotoxicity of human pharmaceuticals, with one cell line proving more sensitive than the other, underscoring how nanoplastics can change the hazard profile of co-occurring chemical pollutants.
There is an increasing concern on the consequences of the presence of micro(nano)plastics to marine organisms. The present study aimed to provide information on the effects of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) to fish cells alone and combined with human pharmaceuticals, other emerging contaminants, using as biological models marine fish cell lines SAF-1 and DLB-1. Cells were exposed for 24 h to 100 nm PSNPs, starting at 0.001 up to 10 mg/L, to assess effects on viability and activity of catalase (antioxidant defense) and glutathione S-transferases (phase II biotransformation and antioxidant defense). The viability of cells was also evaluated after exposure to human pharmaceuticals alone and combined with PSNPs. Overall, PSNPs failed to be cytotoxic but data proved their ability to alter the toxicity of human pharmaceuticals. DLB-1 was the most sensitive cell line to PSNPs. Data support the use of marine fish cell lines in the study of the effects of micro(nano)plastics.