Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments: Impacts on Aquatic Species and Interactions with Environmental Factors and Pollutants

Abstract

Plastic production began in the early 1900s and it has transformed our way of life. Despite the many advantages of plastics, a massive amount of plastic waste is generated each year, threatening the environment and human health. Because of their pervasiveness and potential for health consequences, small plastic residues produced by the breakdown of larger particles have recently received considerable attention. Plastic particles at the nanometer scale (nanoplastics) are more easily absorbed, ingested, or inhaled and translocated to other tissues and organs than larger particles. Nanoplastics can also be transferred through the food web and between generations, have an influence on cellular function and physiology, and increase infections and disease susceptibility. This review will focus on current research on the toxicity of nanoplastics to aquatic species, taking into account their interactive effects with complex environmental mixtures and multiple stressors. It intends to summarize the cellular and molecular effects of nanoplastics on aquatic species; discuss the carrier effect of nanoplastics in the presence of single or complex environmental pollutants, pathogens, and weathering/aging processes; and include environmental stressors, such as temperature, salinity, pH, organic matter, and food availability, as factors influencing nanoplastic toxicity. Microplastics studies were also included in the discussion when the data with NPs were limited. Finally, this review will address knowledge gaps and critical questions in plastics’ ecotoxicity to contribute to future research in the field.

Combined Effects of Polystyrene Nanoplastics and Enrofloxacin on the Life Histories and Gut Microbiota of Daphnia magna

“…Additionally, their presence may cause an enhancement of toxicity occurring from the on-surface pre-concentration ("The Trojan horse effect") [22,24]. Although many ecotoxicological studies suggest that realistic environmental concentrations of micro-and nanoplastics may not induce significant detrimental effects on marine organisms nor threaten their survival [13,25], the co-exposure to NPs and other associated contaminants/stressors could exacerbate their effects [26][27][28].…”

Surface topography of nanoplastics modulates their internalization and toxicity in liver cells

“…This phenomenon could be attributed to the interaction between the NPs and the ionic components and organic molecules of the HDS treatment. 44 Collectively, we found that the HDS treatment of AIE-NPs could significantly alter their specific surface area and hydrophobicity. The increased surface roughness for the HDS-treated AIE-NPs resulted in a larger specific surface area and higher hydrophilicity.…”

A growing crisis for One Health: Impacts of plastic pollution across layers of biological function

“…Micro-and nanoplastics (MNPs) affect molecular and cellular responses, tissue and organ systems, and physiological/behavioral responses in multiple species. Adapted from Trevisan et al, 2022. upregulation of Cxcr5 and Tnfsf13b, both of which are involved in B cell development (Choi et al, 2018). Other studies have demonstrated increased inflammation in fish when fed irregularly-shaped microplastics (Jiang et al, 2016;Tao et al, 2016).…”