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Bridging lab and field: Tracking environmentally relevant nanoplastics in crops using Py-GC/MS
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Researchers developed a method to track environmentally realistic nanoplastics in barley plants using a novel analytical technique. They produced nanoplastics from weathered polystyrene foam to better mimic real-world conditions and confirmed the particles could be taken up by plant roots and move into above-ground tissues. The study provides important evidence that crops grown in contaminated soil can absorb nanoplastics, with implications for food safety.
The increasing presence of nanoplastics (NPs) in terrestrial environments raises concerns about their bioavailability and potential impacts on crops. This study investigates the uptake and translocation of environmentally relevant polystyrene nanoplastics (eNPs-PS) in Hordeum vulgare L. via soil. eNPs-PS were produced from aged polystyrene (PS) foam using a top-down approach and characterized by Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), revealing a polydisperse population with a mean size of 179.8 ± 2.8 nm. A novel acetone-assisted Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) technique method was developed for quantifying PS in plant matrices tissues. Barley cultivated in eNPs-PS -contaminated soil (228.9 mg kg⁻¹), and results demonstrated substantial accumulation in roots (97.6 ± 39.4 µg g⁻¹) and limited translocation to shoots (30.1 ± 10.1 µg g⁻¹; translocation factor (TF) = 0.31). These findings provide the first experimental evidence of root uptake and systemic movement of environmentally relevant nanoplastics in plants. The observed restricted translocation highlights a potential shift in risk from food chain contamination to rhizospheric exposure, with possible implications for soil organisms and microbial symbioses. This work underscores the need to include realistic nanoplastics in environmental risk assessments and supports the development of adapted regulatory test protocols.
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Quantification of nanoplastics uptake and transport in lettuce by pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
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Researchers developed a reliable laboratory method to precisely measure the amount of nanoplastic particles taken up by lettuce plants, using a combination of chemical digestion and specialized mass spectrometry techniques. They found that lettuce roots absorbed polystyrene nanoplastics and transported them to the leaves, with uptake levels depending on particle size. The study suggests that crops grown in nanoplastic-contaminated environments could accumulate these particles in their edible parts, raising questions about food safety.
Tracking Microplastics and Their Associated Chemical Additives in Plant Tissues: A Pyrolysis GC-MS Approach to Identification, Quantification, and Translocation Mechanism
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Researchers developed an acid digestion and pyrolysis gas chromatography method to detect and quantify polystyrene microplastics — and the chemical additives they carry — inside basil plants grown in contaminated soil. They confirmed that microplastics taken up by plant roots translocate into stems and leaves that humans eat, and identified several potentially harmful chemical additives associated with the particles. This matters because it establishes a direct contamination pathway from plastic-polluted soil into food crops.
Quantification of Nanoplastic Uptake in Cucumber Plants by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
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Researchers developed a new analytical method to measure how much nanoplastic cucumber plants absorb from their growing environment. Using this technique, they detected up to nearly 7,000 micrograms per gram of nanoplastics in dried plant tissues after just two weeks of exposure, confirming that the tiny particles can be taken up, transported, and accumulated throughout the plant. The findings raise concerns about nanoplastics potentially entering the human food chain through contaminated produce.
Nanoplastics are taken up by lettuce and barley under realistic soil condition
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles called nanoplastics can be absorbed by lettuce and barley plants when grown in soil, even at low pollution levels similar to what's found in the environment. The plastic particles accumulated in the parts of the plants that people eat, showing a new way these pollutants could enter our food supply. While the amounts were small, this research reveals that nanoplastics from pollution can travel from soil into our crops, which could eventually affect human health.
Quantitative tracing of uptake and transport of submicrometre plastics in crop plants using lanthanide chelates as a dual-functional tracer
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Researchers developed a new method using europium-tagged nanoplastics to precisely measure how 200-nanometer plastic particles are taken up by wheat and lettuce plants. The nanoplastics accumulated mainly in the roots, with a small but measurable amount transported to the shoots that people eat. This study confirms that food crops can absorb nanoplastics from contaminated soil, providing a direct pathway for these particles to enter the human diet.
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