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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Quantification of nanoplastics uptake and transport in lettuce by pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
ClearBridging lab and field: Tracking environmentally relevant nanoplastics in crops using Py-GC/MS
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.
Quantification of Nanoplastic Uptake in Cucumber Plants by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
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.
Uptake, Distribution, and Impact of Micro- and Nano-Plastics in Horticultural Systems Using Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) as a Model Crop
Researchers studied how micro- and nanoplastics are taken up and distributed in lettuce grown in horticultural systems, finding that nanopolystyrene exposures significantly inhibited leaf and root development in a concentration-dependent manner. They optimized extraction methods for quantifying microplastics in soil and developed a synthesis procedure for nanoplastic test particles. The study demonstrates that plastic fragments from horticultural materials can accumulate in soil and affect crop growth, raising concerns about food safety.
Uptake and accumulation of microplastics in an edible plant
Researchers demonstrated for the first time that edible plants can take up and accumulate microplastics from soil. Using fluorescently labeled polystyrene beads, they showed that 0.2-micrometer particles entered lettuce roots through small cracks at lateral root emergence sites, traveled through the vascular system, and accumulated in the leaves. The findings raise concerns about a previously unrecognized pathway for human microplastic exposure through the consumption of vegetables grown in contaminated soil.
Quantitative tracing of uptake and transport of submicrometre plastics in crop plants using lanthanide chelates as a dual-functional tracer
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.
Internalization, physiological responses and molecular mechanisms of lettuce to polystyrene microplastics of different sizes: Validation of simulated soilless culture
This study found that lettuce plants absorb polystyrene microplastics through their roots and transport them to their leaves, with smaller particles (100 nanometers) moving more easily than larger ones. Both sizes reduced plant growth by roughly 38-48% and triggered stress responses including changes in gene expression. These findings raise food safety concerns since microplastics in soil can accumulate in leafy vegetables that people eat.
Uptake and translocation of polystyrene nanoplastics in edible plants via root and foliar exposure: A qualitative imaging-based study
Researchers examined the uptake and movement of polystyrene nanoplastics in lettuce, carrot, and wheat following root and foliar exposure using confocal and electron microscopy. The study found that nanoplastics were internalized in root, stem, and leaf tissues of all three species, with lettuce showing the most extensive systemic transport including bidirectional movement, raising potential concerns for human exposure through crop consumption.
Nanoplastics are taken up by lettuce and barley under realistic soil condition
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.
Metabolic response of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) to polystyrene nanoplastics and microplastics after foliar exposure
Researchers exposed lettuce plants to polystyrene nanoplastics and microplastics through their leaves and found that the particles altered the plant's metabolism differently depending on particle size. This foliar exposure pathway means that microplastics and nanoplastics settling on leafy vegetables from the air can change the plant's internal chemistry. Since lettuce is widely consumed raw, these metabolic changes raise questions about how microplastic-contaminated produce might affect nutritional quality and human health.
Tracking Microplastics and Their Associated Chemical Additives in Plant Tissues: A Pyrolysis GC-MS Approach to Identification, Quantification, and Translocation Mechanism
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.
Mass-based trophic transfer of polystyrene nanoplastics in the lettuce-snail food chain
Researchers traced the trophic transfer of polystyrene nanoplastics from water into lettuce plants and then into garden snails, finding measurable mass-based transfer at each step of the food chain even at low nanoplastic concentrations using pyrolysis-GC/MS quantification.
Quantitative uptake of nanoplastics with different physico-chemical properties in lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and transfer to snails (Cantareus aspersus)
This study quantified the uptake of nanoplastics with different physico-chemical properties into lettuce plants grown in contaminated agricultural soil, using europium-doped polystyrene particles as tracers. Particle charge and surface chemistry significantly affected the extent of nanoplastic uptake into plant tissues, with positively charged particles showing greater accumulation.
Quantification of nanoplastic uptake and distribution in the root, stem and leaves of the edible herb Lepidum sativum
Scientists confirmed that 100-nanometer polystyrene nanoplastics can be absorbed by the roots of the edible herb garden cress and travel up through the stem into the leaves. At high concentrations, the nanoplastics significantly reduced germination, plant weight, and root growth, though environmentally realistic levels did not cause visible harm. This finding raises food safety concerns because nanoplastics in agricultural soil could end up in the edible parts of plants that people consume.
The review of nanoplastics in plants: Detection, analysis, uptake, migration and risk
This review examines how nanoplastics are detected, analyzed, taken up by plants, and migrate through plant tissues from roots to edible parts. As nanoplastics are found in agricultural soils, understanding how they enter food crops is critical for assessing human dietary exposure.
Quantitative uptake of nanoplastics with different physico-chemical properties in lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and transfer to snails (Cantareus aspersus)
This study investigated how the physico-chemical properties of nanoplastics, including charge and surface chemistry, affect their uptake by lettuce using europium-doped polystyrene particles as tracers. Results showed that particle surface properties significantly influenced nanoplastic uptake into plant tissue, with implications for food chain contamination.
The dosage- and size-dependent effects of micro- and nanoplastics in lettuce roots and leaves at the growth, photosynthetic, and metabolomics levels
Researchers studied the effects of polyethylene micro- and nanoplastics on lettuce plants, varying both particle size and concentration. They found that particle size played a pivotal role in influencing plant growth, photosynthetic activity, and metabolic processes, with nanoplastics generally causing more pronounced effects than larger microplastics. The study suggests that the smallest plastic particles pose the greatest risk to crop health by disrupting plant physiology at multiple levels.
Soil moisture and texture mediating the micro(nano)plastics absorption and growth of lettuce in natural soil conditions
Experiments growing lettuce in natural agricultural soil showed that microplastics and nanoplastics are taken up and transported through roots, stems, and even leaves, and that higher soil moisture accelerates this uptake and migration. Because the study used realistic soil conditions, it strengthens concerns that food crops may be accumulating plastic particles that consumers then ingest.
Determining the accumulation potential of nanoplastics in crops: An investigation of 14C-labelled polystyrene nanoplastic into radishes
Researchers used a radioactive labeling technique to track nanoplastics as they moved through radish plants, demonstrating for the first time that these particles can accumulate in edible tissues. About 25% of the nanoplastics absorbed by the roots were found in the edible fleshy root, with another 10% reaching the shoots. The findings highlight a potential pathway for human exposure to nanoplastics through everyday vegetables.
Potential impact and mechanism of aged polyethylene microplastics on nitrogen assimilation of Lactuca sativa L.
Researchers investigated how aged polyethylene microplastics of different sizes affect nitrogen uptake and metabolism in romaine lettuce. They found that aged microplastics, especially smaller particles, accumulated in the plants and disrupted nitrogen assimilation processes. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils may affect crop nutrition and quality by interfering with how plants absorb and process essential nutrients.
Foliar Exposure of Deuterium Stable Isotope-Labeled Nanoplastics to Lettuce: Quantitative Determination of Foliar Uptake, Transport, and Trophic Transfer in a Terrestrial Food Chain
Using specially labeled nanoplastics, researchers showed for the first time that nanoplastics deposited on lettuce leaves can be absorbed through the leaf surface and transported to roots. When snails ate the contaminated lettuce, the nanoplastics transferred up the food chain, though at reduced concentrations. This study demonstrates a new pathway for nanoplastic exposure: airborne plastic particles landing on crops could reach consumers through the food they eat.
Luminous polystyrene upconverted nanoparticles to visualize the traces of nanoplastics in a vegetable plant
Luminous polystyrene upconverted nanoparticles were used to track the uptake and accumulation of nanoplastics in edible plants, providing a novel visualization method that revealed specific tissues and pathways through which nanoplastics travel from soil through roots into above-ground plant structures.
Identification and quantification of nanoplastics in different crops using pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
Researchers developed a reliable method to measure nanoplastics in food crops and found significant contamination in four types of vegetables including cowpea and cabbage. PVC and polyethylene nanoplastics were the most common, with cowpea showing especially high levels of PET nanoplastics. This is one of the first studies to actually quantify nanoplastic levels in crops, providing important data for understanding how much plastic people may be consuming through their diet.
Toxic effects and mechanisms of engineered nanoparticles and nanoplastics on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)
Researchers compared the effects of engineered nanoparticles and polystyrene nanoplastics on lettuce and found that all types caused oxidative stress in roots at high concentrations. Each nanoparticle type triggered different defensive metabolic pathways in the plants, and nanoplastics specifically altered amino acid and vitamin metabolism. Since lettuce is widely consumed raw, these findings raise questions about how nanoplastic contamination in agricultural soil could affect the safety of leafy vegetables.
Uptake and transport of micro/nanoplastics in terrestrial plants: Detection, mechanisms, and influencing factors
This review summarizes how micro and nanoplastics enter and move through plants, including uptake through roots and leaves via processes like endocytosis and movement through cell walls. Smaller particles penetrate more easily, and factors like surface charge and soil conditions affect how much plastic plants absorb. The findings are important because they show that crops can take up microplastics from contaminated soil, creating a potential pathway for these particles to reach the human diet.