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Amplified toxic effects of nanoplastic composite norfloxacin on liver cells in mice: Mechanistic insights and multiscale evaluation
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Researchers examined the combined toxic effects of nanoplastics and the antibiotic norfloxacin on mouse liver cells and found that co-exposure was significantly more harmful than either contaminant alone. The nanoplastics acted as carriers that increased antibiotic accumulation inside cells, amplifying oxidative damage and disrupting key protective enzymes. The study highlights that nanoplastics in the environment can worsen the toxicity of co-occurring pollutants like antibiotics.
The concomitant presence of nanoplastics (NPs) and antibiotics in environmental matrices demands urgent investigation into their combined toxicity, however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we employed a multiscale strategy to clarify the combined toxicity and mechanisms of NPs and norfloxacin (NOR) in primary murine hepatocytes. Specifically, co-exposure triggered a 59.0 % reduction in cell viability, exceeding individual treatments (NOR alone: 43.2 %), while amplifying intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by 60.1 % compared to individual NOR treatment. NPs promoted NOR bioaccumulation via carrier-mediated transport, thereby aggravating oxidative imbalance through SOD suppression (24.3 % inhibition) and lipid peroxidation (48.3 % MDA elevation). Molecular analyses revealed NPs-NOR complexes destabilized the secondary structure of CAT, increasing α-Helix (2.2 %) content, and docking simulations identified NOR binding to residues. These findings mechanistically link NPs-antibiotic interactions to amplified toxicity via oxidative stress and conformational disruption, highlighting NPs as critical modulators of pollutant bioavailability. This work advances predictive frameworks for composite toxicity, underscores the need to prioritize risk assessment of co-contaminants in environmental and biomedical contexts.
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Combined toxic effects of nanoplastics and norfloxacin on mussel: Leveraging biochemical parameters and gut microbiota
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Researchers exposed mussels to nanoplastics and the antibiotic norfloxacin, both alone and together, and found that the combination caused greater biochemical stress than either pollutant alone. Nanoplastics appeared to carry the antibiotic into mussel tissues, increasing its bioavailability and impact on gut microbiota. The findings suggest that nanoplastics can amplify the toxicity of other contaminants in marine organisms.
Microplastic-contaminated antibiotics as an emerging threat to mammalian liver: enhanced oxidative and inflammatory damages
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Researchers used a mouse model to study what happens when microplastics contaminated with antibiotics are ingested together, simulating real-world food chain exposure. The study found that the combination caused enhanced oxidative stress and inflammatory damage in the liver compared to either pollutant alone. The findings suggest that microplastics carrying adsorbed antibiotics may pose a greater threat to liver health than microplastics or antibiotics individually.
Aging amplifies the combined toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and norfloxacin on human intestinal cells
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Researchers investigated how environmental aging of polystyrene nanoplastics affects their combined toxicity with the antibiotic norfloxacin on human intestinal cells. They found that aged nanoplastics were taken up more readily by cells and significantly amplified the harmful effects of the antibiotic, including increased cell damage. The study suggests that weathered nanoplastics in the environment may pose greater health risks than fresh particles, especially when combined with other contaminants.
Combined Exposure to Polystyrene Nanoplastics and Gentamicin Promotes Liver Toxicity Through Oxidative Stress, Inflammation and Apoptotic Pathways: In Vivo and In Silico Studies
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Scientists found that when rats were exposed to tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) together with a common antibiotic called gentamicin, their livers showed more damage than exposure to either one alone—including increased stress, inflammation, and cell death in liver tissue. This matters because it suggests that everyday exposure to plastic pollution might make certain medications more harmful to our organs, though more research is needed to confirm this happens in humans too.
Single and combined effects of antibiotics and nanoplastics from surgical masks and plastic bottles on pathogens
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Researchers examined the combined effects of nanoplastics from surgical masks and plastic bottles with antibiotics on pathogens, finding that co-exposure created synergistic toxic effects and altered antimicrobial resistance patterns in bacteria.
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