From bottle to microplastics: Can we estimate how our plastic products are breaking down?

Sipe, Joana Marie; Bossa, Nathan; Berger, William; Windheim, Natalia von; Gall, Ken; Wiesner, Mark R.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152460

Cited by 48 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Still, similar surface degradation, cracking, and attached fragments were found in field experiments. 84,85 As another example, the applied sonication describes a worst-case scenario for mechanical abrasion compared to environmental mechanical stresses; 86 supports that dry UV aging leads to crack formation and in consequence to fragment formation, before any mechanical treatment is applied. 69 These previously formed fragments can be released (i.e., sampled) by any mechanical treatment, and in fact earlier NanoRelease studies compared shear-free immersion to gentle shaking to ultrasonication and found that shaking or sonication induced comparable fragment release rates, and also shear-free immersion was found to be in the same order of magnitude.…”

Section: ■ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Degradation of Microplastics: How to Measure Fragmentation Rates to Secondary Micro- and Nanoplastic Fragments and Dissociation into Dissolved Organics

Pfohl

Wagner

Meyer

et al. 2022

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Understanding the environmental fate of microplastics is essential for their risk assessment. It is essential to differentiate size classes and degradation states. Still, insights into fragmentation and degradation mechanisms of primary and secondary microplastics into micro- and nanoplastic fragments and other degradation products are limited. Here, we present an adapted NanoRelease protocol for a UV-dose-dependent assessment and size-selective quantification of the release of micro- and nanoplastic fragments down to 10 nm and demonstrate its applicability for polyamide and thermoplastic polyurethanes. The tested cryo-milled polymers do not originate from actual consumer products but are handled in industry and are therefore representative of polydisperse microplastics occurring in the environment. The protocol is suitable for various types of microplastic polymers, and the measured rates can serve to parameterize mechanistic fragmentation models. We also found that primary microplastics matched the same ranking of weathering stability as their corresponding macroplastics and that dissolved organics constitute a major rate of microplastic mass loss. The results imply that previously formed micro- and nanoplastic fragments can further degrade into water-soluble organics with measurable rates that enable modeling approaches for all environmental compartments accessible to UV light.

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Section: ■ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Degradation of Microplastics: How to Measure Fragmentation Rates to Secondary Micro- and Nanoplastic Fragments and Dissociation into Dissolved Organics

Pfohl

Wagner

Meyer

et al. 2022

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…MPs have recently been found in human lungs, placentas, and blood . Their general toxicity and overall impact on health are difficult to assess due to variability in their chemical makeup, size, origins, and degradation pathways over time. , MPs can be classified as primary when they are released into the environment as submillimeter-sized particles, for example, from commercial products in cosmetics, tires, and textiles. , Conversely, secondary MPs are formed from the breakdown of larger plastic waste . Both primary and secondary MPs can be anticipated to undergo physical and chemical changes when released in the environment. , However, there is a significant lack of understanding of the effect of parameters such as heat or sunlight irradiance on the physical properties of MPs that determine their long-term fate and interaction with the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…21,22 Conversely, secondary MPs are formed from the breakdown of larger plastic waste. 23 Both primary and secondary MPs can be anticipated to undergo physical and chemical changes when released in the environment. 24,25 However, there is a significant lack of understanding of the effect of parameters such as heat or sunlight irradiance on the physical properties of MPs that determine their long-term fate and interaction with the environment.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Weathering on Microplastic Dispersibility and Pollutant Uptake Capacity

et al. 2022

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Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment, leading to a new form of plastic pollution crisis, which has reached an alarming level worldwide. Micron and nanoscale plastics may get integrated into ecological cycles with detrimental effects on various ecosystems. Commodity plastics are widely considered to be chemically inert, and alterations in their surface properties due to environmental weathering are often overlooked. This lack of knowledge on the dynamic changes in the surface chemistry and properties of (micro)plastics has impeded their life-cycle analysis and prediction of their fate in the environment. Through simulated weathering experiments, we delineate the role of sunlight in modifying the physicochemical properties of microplastics. Within 10 days of accelerated weathering, microplastics become dramatically more dispersible in the water column and can more than double the surface uptake of common chemical pollutants, such as malachite green and lead ions. The study provides the basis for identifying the elusive link between the surface properties of microplastics and their fate in the environment.

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“…After 24 days of shaking, the overall composition of α-synuclein fibrils under TEM is similar between nanoplastic-contaminated and nanoplastic-free reactions. To confirm that environmentally derived polystyrene nanoplastic, which differs in surface coarseness from smoother engineered polystyrene nanoplastics ( 7 ), has a similar effect, we produced nanoplastics from single-use red Solo-brand polystyrene plastic cups following National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines ( 27 , 28 ). These particles, with a size distribution of 115.6 ± 34.3 nm diameter, have a similar nucleating effect on α-synuclein fibrils (fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anionic nanoplastic contaminants promote Parkinson’s disease–associated α-synuclein aggregation

Liu,

Sokratian,

Duda

et al. 2023

Sci. Adv.

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Recent studies have identified increasing levels of nanoplastic pollution in the environment. Here, we find that anionic nanoplastic contaminants potently precipitate the formation and propagation of α-synuclein protein fibrils through a high-affinity interaction with the amphipathic and non-amyloid component (NAC) domains in α-synuclein. Nanoplastics can internalize in neurons through clathrin-dependent endocytosis, causing a mild lysosomal impairment that slows the degradation of aggregated α-synuclein. In mice, nanoplastics combine with α-synuclein fibrils to exacerbate the spread of α-synuclein pathology across interconnected vulnerable brain regions, including the strong induction of α-synuclein inclusions in dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. These results highlight a potential link for further exploration between nanoplastic pollution and α-synuclein aggregation associated with Parkinson’s disease and related dementias.

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From bottle to microplastics: Can we estimate how our plastic products are breaking down?

Cited by 48 publications

References 39 publications

Environmental Degradation of Microplastics: How to Measure Fragmentation Rates to Secondary Micro- and Nanoplastic Fragments and Dissociation into Dissolved Organics

Environmental Degradation of Microplastics: How to Measure Fragmentation Rates to Secondary Micro- and Nanoplastic Fragments and Dissociation into Dissolved Organics

Effects of Weathering on Microplastic Dispersibility and Pollutant Uptake Capacity

Anionic nanoplastic contaminants promote Parkinson’s disease–associated α-synuclein aggregation

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